The Secrets We Keep
by MonPetitTresor
Summary: Spencer Reid had spent a lifetime keeping one very important secret. Only, now it looks like that might not be a secret for much longer. When Nick Fury shows up at his work, asking for a favor, Spencer would move Heaven and Earth to get it done. Keeping his secret doesn't matter so much anymore. The only thing that matters is bringing his brother home. (COMPLETE, just transferring)
1. Chapter 1

Paperwork had always been slightly soothing to Spencer. Though people liked to tease him about it, he didn't really mind. It was easy, mostly repetitive at this job, and only took a small amount of focus. He could do paperwork without thinking too hard about what he was doing. Just enough focus to get it done and make sure all the details were there, engaging his brain just enough that it wasn't left without anything at all to focus on, but not enough to really make it hard work. Spencer Reid could—and _had_ —spend hours filling out paperwork and walk away from it with a sense of calm that always had people giving him strange looks.

Today, it was working especially well for him, not only helping his mind to focus but taking away that hint of a buzz that was echoing at the edges of his mind. A buzz that he'd been living with since puberty and which would sometimes get a little louder and a little more insistent than other times. It'd push itself forward, demanding attention, and if he wasn't free to indulge it he had to find a way to work around it.

There were very few people in the world who knew that little fact about Spencer and who would've understood some of what it meant. Only one other person out there _truly_ understood. But neither Spencer's team nor anyone else in the Bureau knew, and he worried sometimes that none of them would've understood, either. That was why he'd never told them. He'd never once even hinted to his friends the truth.

Spencer was a mutant.

Knowing that he was a mutant would be hard enough for the Bureau to deal with. If they knew what it was that he could do, that he had the ability to connect with and manipulate electricity—which, aside from the obvious electric style attacks, also granted him the ability to hack into different types of technology, download information, and break past their best firewalls like they were tissue—there was no way they would've let him anywhere near the Bureau, or any other government facility. He'd gained so much knowledge from his time here, a lot of it inadvertently.

For the most part he tried to keep away from technology. He let people think he was a bit of a technophobe so they wouldn't get suspicious about why he didn't want to touch any computers, tablets, or anything like that. If he didn't touch them, he wouldn't be as tempted to reach out to them.

That didn't mean the temptation wasn't there, though. Part of his powers meant that Spencer could sense the electrical current all around him. When he was inside a big building full of electrical currents—computers, cell phones, the big server room downstairs, tablets, iPods, watches, beepers, scanners, their security system, the elevators, door locks—it made an almost constant buzz of energy in the back of his mind, one that he had to force himself not to touch.

It was why he liked to distract himself with paperwork. He was doing a rather good job of it at the moment when he suddenly felt something very, very strange. One of the rooms nearby suddenly had what he recognized as a dampening field around it. It was something that could be put up to make sure that no bugs would get in or out of the room. This one was strong, too. It would work well enough against Spencer for a while. He'd have to actually push to break through it and get enough electricity to the deice that created it so he could get around it all.

There were very few people out there with access to that kind of technology. There was only one he could think of who would be brazen enough to come into the FBI to use it.

Spencer was already twisting around to look when he heard someone call out his name. "Reid."

He looked up to find Aaron standing in front of his office. The man gestured him forward with one hand, his expression serious.

"Uh oh." The sound of Derek's low voice had Spencer sneaking a glance at him while rising to his feet. His best friend raised his eyebrows at Spencer. He was sitting on JJ's desk and had been speaking with JJ about something to do with their paperwork when Aaron had called out Spencer's name. He was watching carefully now, always a bit protective of Spencer. "You do something I should know about, kid?"

Spencer straightened up and pushed his chair in. "Not that I'm aware of."

"I'm sure it's nothing." Alex chimed in from her desk. She sat back in her chair, watching carefully. She wasn't quite as good as the rest of them yet at hiding her worry. Little lines showed at the edges of her smile that gave away her worry.

Doing his best to not show his own worry, Spencer made himself smile and shake his head as he passed his friends. "You all worry too much. Just because Hotch wants to speak with me doesn't mean I'm in trouble."

He wished, as he made his way up there, that he believed his own words. Instinct told him that there was some kind of trouble here. That only seemed confirmed when Aaron gestured him on towards the round table room. "You have a visitor." The way that Aaron said it, how he stared at Spencer afterwards, made it clear that the Unit Chief was worried as well. That really didn't make Spencer feel better. He turned towards the conference room with trepidation.

It wasn't until he was inside the room that he saw who was waiting for him. When he did, he knew he'd been right to be worried.

Nick Fury turned away from the windows to fix Spencer with a stern look as the young genius walked into the room. "Shut the door behind you."

Yeah, that didn't really make him feel better. Spencer shut the door while never once taking his eyes off of the other man. With practiced skill, he forced his spine straight and made himself meet Nick's stare. This couldn't be good. For Nick to come _here_ , it couldn't be good. "What's going on, Nick?"

Usually the two were slightly formal when they met. Spencer called him 'Director' while Nick called him 'Doctor' or 'Dr. Reid'. Right then, Spencer didn't want to waste time with formalities. Something important was happening and he wanted to know what it was. Because there was a sick feeling building in his gut that told him he already had a pretty good idea.

Nick's one eye seemed to, as someone close to Spencer had once put it, a glare strong enough for two. The man stared at Spencer for a long moment before he sighed. A bit of tension bled out of him. "I get the feeling you know why I'm here."

"No, sir." Spencer said immediately. Then, when Nick tilted his head and his look turned a bit dry, Spencer sighed and tried not to let his own tension show. "I can guess, though. What's he done now?"

Neither of them had to say 'who'. They both knew who they were talking about.

Nick folded his hands behind him. It was a defensive pose he used when he was about to deliver bad news. Spencer logged that away before he got caught up in the words that were said next. Words that tilted Spencer's world completely. "He's gone missing. Complete radio silence for three weeks now."

" _Three weeks_?" The words tumbled past Spencer's lips before he could stop them. He faltered a little, stumbling forward a step so he could grab the back of a nearby chair. A small part of his brain was trying to remind him that his team was probably watching through the big windows. They'd be staring at him and trying to profile what was going on and he really shouldn't give away anything. That little voice was drowned out by a much louder one shouting out _'Three weeks!'_

At least Nick had the decency to look a bit guilty at that. Only briefly, though. "We wanted to be sure before we spoke with you. We've exhausted every avenue we can and we've picked up no trace of him whatsoever. The other Avengers are looking, but they're coming up with nothing. I need your mind on this. You know him better than anyone and you're the one best suited to finding him. We need you to head to the Avengers Tower immediately. If he's just vanished, that's fine, but we need to know. You'll work with the other Avengers to find and bring him home."

Work with the other Avengers. Nick wanted him to work with the Avengers. The people who had apparently been paying so little attention they'd lost a teammate. The ones who couldn't even find him. And who had no idea about Spencer's existence. At least, not as far as he knew. Clenching tight to the chair back, trying to find his calm, Spencer managed to ask, "Do they…?"

"No." Nick said firmly. "And we're trying to keep it that way."

Spencer nodded in understanding. This was the kind of secret that could cause a lot of damage. A secret that Spencer had been keeping pretty much his entire life. If the general public found out that Dr. Spencer Reid was the younger half-brother of playboy Tony Stark, it would put Spencer at huge risk, and that was something Tony would never allow. He was far too overprotective to be okay with Spencer putting himself at risk.

Looking over towards the windows, Spencer watched as his teammates tried to look up at them without being caught staring. He knew them well enough to be able to tell what they were doing. It wasn't hard. Especially since he knew he'd be doing the same thing if he were in their shoes. "What am I telling my team?" There was no way he could just vanish on them without them being told something. _Focus on the details. Just focus on those._ It was the only way he was going to be able to stay calm.

Of course, he really should've figured Nick would have it all planned out.

The man picked up a couple files off the round-table and held them out Spencer's direction. "You're going to be consulting with us on a mission with a security clearance that the rest of your team doesn't possess. As far as they're concerned, we need a profiler and you're the only one whose clearance meets the requirements."

"That'll work." Spencer agreed. Though his team had no idea just how high his security clearance was, he knew both Derek and Aaron knew that it was rather high. Aaron knew because he had Spencer's file and he knew the things that Spencer had consulted on in the past—or, at least, the things Aaron was cleared to know. Derek knew because he and Spencer had got to talking one night and Spencer had almost spilled a story he wasn't allowed to tell. He'd cut himself off, mentioning that a higher clearance was needed to hear that, and Derek hadn't been satisfied until he pulled from Spencer just why he had such a high clearance. He didn't know the _real_ reasons, but the ones that Spencer had given him were true enough. Even if Spencer hadn't been connected to Tony, or to SHIELD, he still would've had a high level clearance simply because of his mind and because of the things the Bureau had him consult on.

Standing here figuring out all these little things was the last thing that Spencer wanted to be doing. He didn't want to have to walk out there and deal with his team, even though he knew he had to. Every inch of him was screaming to get out of there and go find Tony.

The last time Tony had gone missing, Spencer hadn't been able to do a damn thing. He'd been on case after case and there really hadn't been anything a profiler could do at that time. Not even his special… skills… had been any help.

Spencer wasn't going to sit idly by this time. He was going to find his brother. Come hell or high water, he was bringing Tony home.


	2. Chapter 2

With his go-bag always handy at work, it hadn't been hard for Spencer to simply gather up his things and go. The team bought their story; the idea that Spencer was going to consult on a high-priority, top-secret case was easy for them to believe, especially with Nick standing right there beside him. It only took fifteen minutes before Spencer found himself on the roof of the building, seated inside the quinjet that Nick had brought here to grab him. Forty-five minutes later they were landing on the Helicarrier and Spencer was being ushered off the quinjet and inside. The speed with which all of that was done didn't surprise him.

What did surprise him, however, was the presence of the man waiting for them on out in the open of the Helicarrier. Spencer knew enough from his time at SHIELD, his access to SHIELD files—which Nick may or may not have known about, but Spencer was betting on _not_ —and from Tony's stories to be able to place who this man was almost immediately.

Clint Barton.

He was standing there near the doors that led inside, hands in his pockets and a blank look on his face that did nothing to hide the lines of worry and stress. Spencer focused on him, trying to ignore the buzzing of the world around him that was so much stronger than normal thanks to his shaky shields.

Nick led Spencer right up to him and then stopped when they were directly in front of the man. "Dr. Reid, I'd like you to meet Agent Barton, also known as Hawkeye." He paused long enough for Spencer to give a small wave, which earned him a slight furrowing of Clint's brow, and then Nick continued. "Barton, this is Dr. Spencer Reid. I'm putting him in your care."

Wait a second, what? Those words had Spencer turning quickly to shoot Nick an incredulous look. "His care?" Spencer interrupted.

Turning to face him, Nick arched one eyebrow. "Barton's the only one on the team with a security clearance that matches your files. He's the only one capable of watching over you."

Spencer knew that 'matches your files' meant that Clint was not only capable of seeing the things that Spencer saw, he was capable of seeing the basic file this place had on Spencer—which included his powers. It didn't include Spencer's biggest secret, but his powers came in a close second. The idea that he needed a minder, though… Spencer swallowed down the words that wanted to build and chose new ones much more carefully. "Why exactly is it that I need a handler on this, Nick?"

"If you really think I'm sending you out there without someone to watch your ass, you've got another thing coming, Doctor." The words were sharp, yet for someone like Nick they were almost _kind._ Even so, Spencer resented the implication that he couldn't take care of himself. Before he could say anything, Nick turned back to Clint and left Spencer glaring at him. "Get him to the Tower. Keep him safe and make sure you update me as soon as we have anything. Dismissed, Agent." And without a backwards glance, Nick turned away from them and strolled inside.

That left Spencer and Clint standing there together alone. Spencer held in the urge to roll his eyes. This was typical Nick; he really shouldn't be all that surprised by it. The fact that the man had personally come for him was a sign of respect. It showed that he cared a lot more than he liked to let on.

But that didn't mean he was going to stand here and pretend to hold Spencer's hand or anything like that. He had a job to do and, as he often put it, 'No time to spend babysitting'. That was a job he left to other people. This time, it just happened to be Clint Barton.

Spencer turned to look at the man and found that he was already being studied. The way Clint was looking at him made it clear he was trying to figure things out; who he was and why he was so important. It made Spencer want to sigh. "Did Nick tell you anything about who I am or why I'm here, or did he simply tell you that you're on babysitting duty and leave it at that?"

Though the stress lines around Clint's eyes didn't fade, his lips quirked up. "It's like you know him."

The sarcastic words teased a smile out of Spencer as well. Inside, however, he was cursing roundly. So Nick had called him out here and hadn't bothered to tell anyone anything, it sounded like. On one hand, that was kind of nice because that meant that Spencer could control what these people got to know. He'd be in charge of what they were and what they weren't told. But on the flip side of it, it meant that Spencer was going to have to answer all sorts of questions. He'd have to spin some story for them that was close to the truth without giving away all the truth.

He tried to focus on what to say, hoping to distract himself from the fear that had been sitting in his gut since Nick had first showed up, while Clint led him over to another jet, this one a bit smaller than the last. The archer brought him inside and gestured him towards a seat while he went to the captain's chair. Spencer folded himself down, dropping his bag to the ground and tucking it behind his feet.

Tony would know what to say here. He'd know the right words to say to get everyone smiling and eating out of his hand. That was a skill he had that Spencer definitely didn't. He was such a people person, always able to say what needed to be said at just the right moment. Sure, he could piss people off in an instant, turning his words cutting instead of kind. He could take someone down a peg or two without ever breaking a sweat. But a lifetime in the limelight had made him fully capable of handling a crowd of people no matter how unnerved he was on the inside. Right at the moment that was a skill that Spencer seriously envied.

"Doc?"

Spencer's head snapped up and he found Clint had turned around in his seat and was looking at Spencer curiously. The expression suggested that he'd said something and Spencer had missed it; that was a look Spencer knew far too well. He lifted one hand and wiped it over his face. "My apologies, Agent. Did you say something?"

"You need to buckle in."

A bemused smile touched Spencer's lips. He grabbed the belt and pulled it on until he could click the buckle into place. He watched as Clint turned forward once more and got the jet started. Spencer looked him over, reading the tension in the man's shoulders, the lines on his face, the way his worry sat there in every tense line of him. All of his movements were easy, almost lazy, as he brought the jet up into the air, but there was an edge of something else there. An alertness that Spencer associated with agents of all kinds. Just, a bit more. Less ease to it, more tension. "You and Tony… you're close?"

Most people probably wouldn't have seen the way that Clint jerked a little at that, or how his hands tightened briefly on the controls. It lasted only for a quick second and then it was gone again. "We're friends." Clint said. There was a pause and then his voice came back, a hair softer than before. "Good friends, I'd like to think."

"He doesn't make it easy." Very few people in the world got close to the actual Tony Stark. Most saw the faces he put on for the public. Very rarely did anyone get deeper than that. From what Spencer understood, these people had. "He thinks very highly of you guys."

"Does he?"

Spencer chewed on the inside of his cheek as he stared at the back of Clint's head. When that was all the man said, Spencer's eyebrows went up in surprise. "You're really not going to ask, are you?"

"Ask what?" Clint asked innocently.

Nothing at all gave away any sort of emotion with those words. Spencer was impressed despite himself. "You're not quite how I pictured you, Mr. Barton." Then again, pretty much all of what Spencer knew was filtered through Tony, and loving his brother didn't make Spencer blind to how Tony could be. He saw more than people gave him credit for, but that didn't mean those were the stories he told. He was more likely to tell Spencer about the time that he set robots loose into the vents to chase Clint down until the archer came tumbling out and landed right on top of Steve. Or when Tony caught Natasha trying to teach Steve how to use his phone and videotaped it. He'd sent the video over to Spencer with a whole stream of laughing emojis. Those were the types of stories that Tony shared. The others, he kept guarded close to his heart.

Memories pushed forward and Spencer had to close his eyes to fight for control. His stomach clenched and he put a hand over it, hoping to calm it somewhat, while he locked down the rest of his body so he wouldn't start rocking. He could handle this. He had to handle this. This wasn't the first time either one of them had been kidnapped. It never got any easier, though. Especially after Afghanistan. _Please be okay, Tony. Please be okay._

When he opened his eyes again, he found Clint sneaking looks back at him, but not saying a word. If he had to have a 'handler' while here, at least Nick seemed to have chosen him a rather decent one. The man wasn't pushy, wasn't demanding, didn't ask a ton of questions. Even if he had a right to ask some.

"Tony and I have known one another a long time." Spencer blurted out. He was going to have to explain all this again later, he knew. Yet he kept talking. The words just sort of tumbled out of him; a well-practiced speech he and Tony had both learned a long, long time ago. "My Mom was good friends with Ana Jarvis and they used to babysit me a lot. I met Tony through them and we got to know one another over the years. It's not… it's never been exactly safe to be close to Tony, so we kept our friendship kind of quiet. He's… he's the best friend I've ever had, though."

There was a slight catch to Spencer's voice that had him looking down and away in embarrassment.

He heard Clint shift around in his seat and the buzz of the jet changed a little, telling him that they were turning. Then he heard a soft sigh. "We'll find him, Dr. Reid. I know Fury doesn't seem to think so, but we will."

"Nick didn't bring me in because he doesn't have faith in you." Spencer hurried to say. He opened his eyes and his head snapped up so that he could look at Clint. This wasn't something that he'd thought of, but he should have. He should have figured they'd assume that Nick wasn't trusting them to bring Tony home. "He brought me in because he knows what kind of hell I will rain down on him if he leaves me out of the loop. The fact that it's taken this long for him to tell me…" Spencer grimaced. He hated that it had taken so long. If Nick had called him in earlier, maybe Tony might already be home. Granted, he might _not_ be, but Nick didn't know that, did he? Between Spencer's powers and JARVIS, there was quite a lot they could discover together and quite a lot that they could do. They might've been able to direct the other Avengers on better places to look, too.

Thinking of his powers reminded Spencer of something else. He twisted his hands together and chewed on the inside of his lip. "Listen," He began slowly. "I know… I know there's a high likelihood that the others might find out what I can do, and I'm fully prepared for that to happen if it means saving Tony, but I just… I mean I was hoping…"

"No one's going to find out what you can do from me." Clint said, cutting off his rambling. He didn't sound judgmental or anything like that. In fact, he sounded sort of… understanding. When he looked up at Spencer, he was smiling, albeit lightly. "Bodyguard detail is as much guarding your secrets as it is guarding you, Doc. I read the SHIELD file on you when I got in this morning. I know what you could lose if this got out. I'll do my best to make sure it doesn't happen. _But_ , if something does happen, and I'm not saying it will, none of these guys are the type to go around blabbing secrets."

That was probably meant to be reassuring. It fell short of the mark, though. Especially since Spencer knew just how much explaining he'd have to do if things did come out. The very few people who found out about his powers, or at least some form of them, usually had question after question, and they didn't always react well afterwards.

There had been one who had very firmly told him they 'didn't feel safe' anymore, knowing what he could do. 'You could use those powers to find out anything about anyone. You could tap into security cameras and _spy_ on me! How'm I supposed to trust you?' That had been a devastating one. If Tony hadn't been around, Spencer wasn't sure he would've gotten through that one as well as he did.

So Spencer was skeptical at the idea of anyone reacting well to his secret. But he kept that to himself. Like he'd said, if it meant finding Tony, bringing him home, he'd blow his secret to hell and damn the consequences. There was nothing more important than his brother right now. Not even Spencer's secrets.


	3. Chapter 3

It felt like it took too long and yet no time at all before they were landing at the Avengers Tower. Spencer had drifted for most of the trip; he closed his eyes and let his brain run over everything that he could do, everything that he might try that the Avengers might not have already done, that might help him find Tony. It wasn't until they got close that he felt a familiar buzz sticking out from all the rest of the noise that he was startled out of himself and focused back on the world. His head snapped up and he was reaching out before he could even think about it. Seconds later he was wrapped up in one of the most familiar and yet comforting bits of technology on the face of the earth.

 ** _Hello, sir_** _._ The familiar voice of JARVIS traveled down the electrical wavelengths towards him with all the warmth and affection an AI could show. More, even. JARVIS had so much more to him than any other AI out there. To Spencer, he was just as human as anyone else, and just as much a part of their family as Spencer or Tony was. Hearing the soothing British tones eased some of the ache around Spencer's heart just the slightest bit.

Closing his eyes, the young genius reached back out, matching the electricity his powers gave him, his own electricity, against JARVIS's in the technological equivalent of a hug. **_Hey, JARVIS. How are you and your siblings holding up?_**

 ** _As well as can be expected, sir. Agent Barton and Dr. Banner come and spend time with DUM-E, Butterfingers, and U so they aren't as lonely._**

 ** _But it's not quite the same_** _._ Spencer filled in. He felt the wordless pulse of agreement and sent his own back. He tried to keep his own worries back, not wanting to push them onto the AI. Spencer had been taught by Tony and had witnessed things with his own powers. He knew better than anyone just how much more than an average AI JARVIS was. To Tony, he was like his son, his 'best creation'. And that meant that it was Spencer's job to look after him right now. To protect him. **_I'll be down as soon as I can to visit with them._**

 ** _They'll be pleased to see you, sir._**

When Spencer pulled back a little, reminding himself that he should at least get inside before he started to get to work, he found that the jet was parked and Clint was standing in front of him. The archer was watching him curiously but he wasn't saying or doing anything that might interrupt him.

Though Spencer didn't realize it right away, his eyes were glowing slightly, just a hint of blue energy in them as the power slowly drained out of him. He didn't let go entirely; it was second nature to keep himself tapped into the systems here in the tower. Tony had never been bothered by it; if anything, he'd encouraged it, pointing out that it made Spencer more comfortable and it wasn't like he wasn't already used to being watched all the time. "I trust you not to spy on me." He'd told Spencer. Then he'd laughed and added "Or at least, not use what you see."

Blinking away those memories, Spencer found that Clint was _still_ just standing there. A hint of a blush colored Spencer's cheeks. "My apologies, Agent Barton. I was just, well… greeting JARVIS."

"No problem. I figured you were doing something. Your eyes…" He lifted one hand, gesturing to his face, and Spencer made a low 'ah' sound, knowing what could happen when he reached out with his powers. Clint gave him a half smile. "Yeah. Thought I'd just wait until you were done."

"That's the smartest choice. My powers can act… defensively, if I'm not prepared for a touch. If I consciously log someone away beforehand, they'll be safe." And Tony. Tony was always safe. Siblings' powers tended to work that way. What he did didn't harm his brother; not unless he worked at it.

Spencer gathered up his bag and, after unhooking himself from the seat, rose up to his feet. He felt like he was all nervous energy. He wanted to rush in there and get to work. He wanted to reach out right now and start linking with JARVIS and figure everything out _now_. He wanted to sit down with the Avengers and have them tell him everything they'd done so far to try and find Tony. And he also wanted to hide out here where he'd never have to encounter any of them.

Meeting the Avengers wasn't exactly something that he'd really _wanted_ to do, per se, though he hadn't had any issue with it. He just hadn't ever wanted to do it without Tony present. It felt… wrong. This should be his choice. Introducing these two parts of his life to each other should've been his choice. Doing it like this felt wrong on so many levels, it was hard for Spencer to make himself go forward. Hard to put one foot in front of the other and walk off the jet.

The fact that he had his SHIELD appointed bodyguard in front of him shouldn't have made him feel any better about things. It did, though, strangely enough. So far Clint Barton had seemed like an alright guy. He'd also managed to get Tony to genuinely like him, so that was another positive mark for him. Maybe it was wrong, but it was hard not to judge these people based off of what he'd heard about them from his big brother.

When they reached the doors that would take them inside, Clint stopped and turned towards Spencer. There was something like indecision on his face before it all smoothed away into that mask that every agent Spencer had ever known—at least the good ones—had perfected. "The team has been busting their asses to try and find Stark and bring him home," Clint said bluntly. "There's gonna be some mixed feelings about bringing you in, Doc. But Fury trusts you, and more than that, I'm getting the feeling JARVIS trusts you. Am I right, J?"

The smooth sounds of JARVIS's voice rang in the air around them. "Absolutely, Agent Barton."

Clint nodded his head. "So, I'm gonna trust JARVIS, and I'm gonna trust you. I'll do my job and I'll help you out any way I can, but let me make something clear here. You start causing trouble, or prove not to be any help, I'll ship you back to the Helicarrier and let Fury deal with you however he wants to. Got it?"

The threat didn't deter Spencer in the least. In fact, it raised his estimation of Clint a little more. Anyone who was willing to threaten someone, especially when they'd read the file on that someone and knew just what their powers were capable of, had to care a lot about the person they were threatening for. Spencer could respect that. At the same time, he lifted his chin and added in his own words. "So long as you understand that it works the same in reverse, Agent Barton. If I feel you guys are holding back on me, or that you're not helping, or anything that will slow down or prevent me from finding Tony, I will lock you all out without a single ounce of hesitation and find him on my own. I believe we can work together to accomplish this, but I'm not afraid of working alone."

Smiling faintly, Clint nodded at him. "Got it."

Without another word, the two headed inside.

* * *

Spencer couldn't help the way that his nerves grew as he sat at the counter in the kitchen of the Avengers common area. This was the floor that Tony had built for them to do all their group activities on. Each Avenger had their own floor, which consisted of a bedroom, bathroom, private kitchen and dining area, living room, workout room, and a private room to do with as they would. But he'd made a common area two floors below his own—though the Avengers didn't know it, the floor below Tony's was for Spencer, not for Rhodey and Pepper and guests like they were all told—that held things for everyone. It had a communal kitchen, dining room, TV area, workout rooms, and other things that Spencer wasn't sure of but Tony probably figured everyone needed.

They were all supposed to be making their way here. Where they were before, Spencer wasn't sure. He'd sort of expected for them all to be waiting here when Spencer arrived. The fact that they weren't was kind of weird… yet, good, too. It gave him a moment to just sit and wrap himself up in the electronics of this place and get his head together as best as he could.

 ** _We will find him._** JARVIS reassured Spencer.

The young genius closed his eyes and leaned a little more against the island in front of him. He sat perched on a bar stool, messenger bag clutched in his lap. Hearing JARVIS helped to ease some of the nerves he felt, but it didn't take away from the ball of fear in his gut. He clenched tighter to his bag. _Focus,_ he reminded himself. _Focus. Talk to them, get the information you need, and then you can go and hide out and do whatever you need to find him. Just, focus._

His internal monologue was cut off when he felt the elevator starting to rise. Spencer turned, all his attention focused on those doors as the elevator came up and then, finally, stopped. His hands clenched unconsciously when the doors slipped open. _You can do this. You can do this. For Tony, you can do this._

Out of habit, and ingrained manners, Spencer rose to his feet. He tried to prepare himself for everyone who came out of the elevator. Captain America came first, and then Dr. Bruce Banner behind them with Natasha Romanov, the Black Widow, beside him, and a dark skinned man behind them that Spencer had think for a moment before remembering Tony mentioning something about a guy named Falcon—Sam Wilson. And then… then came the last person Spencer had expected—Pepper Potts.

The sight of her startled Spencer. He cursed himself for it a second later. Of course Pepper was going to be here. Of _course_. Not that Spencer believed that she'd been here the whole time. She had a job to do. Stark Industries wasn't going to run itself, especially with Tony not there. He generally left the day to day stuff up to her so he'd be free to work on things at his own pace.

It made sense that she'd be here to try and help ease the way between Spencer and the Avengers. The fact that he really wasn't all that fond of her didn't really come into play. Mostly because no one knew it. Oh, he was sure Pepper got the idea. He hadn't been the biggest fan of her and Tony's relationship while it was going on and his opinions of her hadn't improved much once they separated. But he could recognize that some of it stemmed simply from being a protective little brother. It was hard not to get protective when people assumed that Tony's absent-minded air meant that he was stupid, or that he needed to be treated like a child.

He had a feeling Pepper knew how he felt. Spencer wasn't rude, it just wasn't in him, but the warmth that Tony had expected to be there just wasn't.

Yet despite all that, there was a tension between them that showed now and again. A coolness on both sides that made it clear for those who knew how to look that the two of them weren't friends.

That coolness wasn't present on Pepper's part now as she hurried towards him. She had her hands out, clearly reaching for him, and Spencer took an automatic step back and to the side. It put the island neatly between them and kept her from reaching him. She saw it, as did everyone else, but it only made her falter for just a second. Then she was smiling and she stopped herself a good foot away from him. "Dr. Reid." Bringing her hands back in, she folded them in front of her, giving away absolutely nothing. She was too good of a businesswoman to be thrown for long. "I heard the Director was bringing you out here. I hope you trip went well."

"As well as could be expected." Spencer said simply.

The edge of her smile twitched. It was the only outward sign that she allowed herself to show. On anyone else he might've called it a flicker of annoyance. On her, he wasn't quite sure. Whatever it was, she recovered quickly and was once more speaking, one hand coming out to gesture towards the Avengers that had gathered beside her. "I know that Tony wanted to be able to introduce you himself, but allow me to step in. This is Captain Steve Rogers, Dr. Banner, Sam Wilson, and Agent Romanov."

It was no real surprise that Steve was the one to speak up first. He held a hand out Spencer's direction and smiled charmingly, the image only ruined by the stress lines at the corners of his eyes. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Reid."

Spencer twisted his hands together in front of him and called on his training from the Bureau to get him through this. He didn't think anything of the hand sticking out; he was rarely self-conscious about not shaking hands anymore. His team had made him more comfortable with that. "You as well, Captain." Then, unable to hold himself back anymore, Spencer pushed past any pleasantries and right into business, just the same as he would only any case. "Can you catch me up on what you have? Nick didn't give me much and I'd like to get started."

His blunt words seemed to surprise a few of them. Even Clint, who was setting down a cup of coffee right by Spencer.

There was a brief pause as Steve stayed where he was, hand in the air. Then he drew it back in slowly with a look on his face that Spencer recognized. It was one that people wore when he did something they considered odd. He let it roll right off his back and gave the man his full focus as the Captain began to speak. "Three weeks ago Tony's car was ambushed when he was on his way out to a dinner engagement. No one had any idea that anything had happened until the car was found forty-five minutes later with the driver dead inside."

"Who was the driver?" Spencer asked, cutting him off. _Please, don't let it be Happy. Please._

"A new man, hired about three months back," Steve answered. Then, before Spencer could ask, he held up a hand to stop him and kept talking. "He was vetted by Tony, JARVIS, Pepper, and Natasha. Plus, we've looked into him, and there's nothing that shows any ties to anyone that might try and hurt Tony."

That was all well and good but Spencer made a mental note to talk to JARVIS about it later. He'd take his own look into the man.

It was Natasha who picked up the story next, her voice calm and cool in a way that Spencer envied. Whatever she felt inside, it wasn't showing through in her body or her words. "We've gone down the list of everyone we can think of that has a grudge against Stark. Nothing seems to be matching up and no one's taken credit for his disappearance."

"It's like he just vanished into the air," Clint chimed in.

Reaching absently for the cup of coffee, Spencer furrowed his brow. "Who was it he was going to meet?" When no one moved to answer him, Spencer looked up at them, eyes going from one face to the next. It wasn't hard to see that they weren't exactly eager to divulge that. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes and spoke to JARVIS instead. "J, who was Tony going to meet with?"

It wasn't JARVIS who answered, though. It was, surprisingly, Bruce. The scientist said simply one word "Me."

Ah. Well, now. Spencer couldn't help it—he smiled. _Good for you, Tone. It's about time._ He didn't comment on it out loud, though. Even he, with his limited social skills, could tell just how uncomfortable Bruce was with talking about this. There was no need to question it further. Spencer had no doubt that this wasn't something Bruce was responsible for. Not judging by what he knew of the man. The gaunt, bruised look to his face and eyes gave testament to just how hard he was taking this.

Unfortunately, all that he'd just heard meant that Nick was right. They really did have _nothing_. He was going to have to start from scratch here. Not that he was blaming them—it wasn't their fault. But it was going to make his job a lot harder. They were going to expect him to work with them, yet, at the moment, they didn't really have anything to provide. Anything he needed could be given to him by JARVIS. That was the way Spencer would've preferred it, too. He didn't really want to work with a bunch of people he didn't know, people who knew Tony and who might see a little too much if they watched Spencer. He didn't want to have to be careful around them to make sure they didn't see something or figure out something they weren't supposed to. That was always so exhausting. Spencer just wanted to focus on bringing his brother home.

With one hand Spencer reached up and rubbed at his face. He let his eyes close for a second and tried to center himself. What would Aaron do first here?

Well, first he'd probably try to make the locals as comfortable as possible. That unfortunately meant that Spencer was going to have to once more explain some things. "I'm assuming that, with how little Agent Barton knew about me, the rest of you know very little as well." He didn't phrase that as a question. Drawing in a breath, Spencer dropped his hand to curl it with his other one around the coffee cup. "I want to put my full focus on finding Tony, but I understand that none of you really know who I am and it has to be strange for me to come into what you see as your home and start taking over an investigation that has been yours up until now. I also imagine that Nick wasn't kind about bringing me in and likely left you feeling like maybe he thought you weren't up to the job or something of the like."

"I explained a little," Pepper said, bringing his eyes to her.

Well it would probably help him a little that Pepper had admitted to knowing who he was. Maybe. Spencer nodded his head and continued on; he wanted to get this done so he could get to work. "Tony and I have been friends for a long time. Most people don't even know I exist because it's always been safer to keep the world from knowing that Tony has someone close to him. It became even more important when I became a profiler for the FBI. My profiling skills are probably part of the reason that Nick asked me to come in."

His words didn't seem to affect Natasha in the slightest bit. She kept up post at Bruce's side, almost like a bodyguard—though was she guarding _him_ , or against him?—and said nothing, just observing Spencer. Bruce, however, looked a bit surprised and curious. Clint… well, Spencer wasn't sure what to make of him. He didn't say anything about it. He just hopped up onto the bar near Spencer and casually sat there, leaning his weight on his hands. Sam actually had a look of understanding on his face, like hearing Spencer's job made things make sense. It was Steve who looked a little lost. "Profiler?"

"Yes." Spencer said, nodding. He was used to explaining his job to people. "My team and I are called out on serial cases where local law enforcement is having a hard time catching their Unsub—unidentified subject. Be it a murderer, rapist, arsonist, bomber, or anything of the like. Our job is to go in and assist the locals by building a psychological profile of their killer, and occasionally a geographical profile. It's not something that can tell them 'That person right there is your killer', but it does give them something to apply to their current suspect pool to help narrow it down. We also often help on abduction cases." Softening ever so slightly, Spencer tried to smile at Steve, who still looked a little lost. "It's complicated to explain, Captain, and I promise you I'll try and give you a better explanation at a later time. Right now, I'd like to get started. The rest of this can wait. Finding Tony can't."


	4. Chapter 4

Getting started for Spencer meant slipping into a role he was a bit more comfortable with. Finding people was a part of his job and Spencer tried to utilize all the skills he'd gained there. It was hard; he was used to doing this with his team. Not that the Avengers weren't willing to help, they just weren't the people that Spencer was used to working with. They didn't have skillsets he was familiar with and knew well how to work with. Nor were they even typical law enforcement, a group that Spencer had enough experience on working with to be able to mesh their styles together. These people were new to him and he had no idea how to do anything with them.

He did his best, though. First things first he got himself comfortable at the bar once more—choosing to ignore how Clint was still sitting up there, right next to him—and he had JARVIS bring up screens all around him to show the data he'd need.

The whole thing would've been easier to do down in the workshop. Not only would there have been more space, there would've been no audience and then he could've freely used his powers. As it was he had to hold it back and try and do this the normal way. He was willing to play that game so long as it didn't start to hinder him in finding Tony. The minute it did, all bets were off and Spencer didn't care what happened after that.

Two holographic maps came up from phones that both Clint and Spencer had set on the counter, showing the tracking data of the two trackers that Spencer knew Tony usually carried on him. A Starklet had been brought out and on there was running the profiles of all people that the team had interviewed as well as anyone else that was on the list of 'threats' that they'd compiled—anyone that might be responsible for this.

For the moment, Spencer focused on the maps. On them were the times and locations where Tony had been, right up until the data stopped transmitting. One of them was the tracker that the others had known about. The other, he was surprised to see they _hadn't_ known about.

That was the one that Natasha was looking closely at now. "It goes a little further than the one we knew about." She pointed out. Her finger came up and followed the trail from where Tony had been kidnapped, going a few blocks further away.

Spencer tried not to let any of the sickness he felt show. He swallowed down the lump in his throat and stared at that little blinking light that showed Tony's last known location. It was in an alley a few blocks away from where the car had been found. "They shouldn't have been able to disable it." His voice was flat, devoid of all emotion, and it earned him more than a few quick looks that he didn't notice. His eyes stayed on the map. "That's likely where they switched him out from one car to another to make for a more secure transport. The vehicle was likely built to cut off all signals that might transmit out." He hoped, at least. Otherwise… it didn't bear thinking about. Nor did he want to think about why the signal hadn't come back on at all since then.

"What is it?" Bruce asked, voicing the one question that Spencer was hoping to avoid answering. It was an answer he didn't really want to think about.

Because of that, his voice was even emptier, almost completely emotionless. "He put a tracker in the arc reactor."

A cold silence chilled the room. Now everyone was thinking about what Spencer had been trying to avoid. For the signal to the arc reactor to be cut off… it wasn't good. Either they had him in a strongly shielded vehicle, and had then transported him directly from there into a shielded facility, or things were a lot worse than they'd anticipated. No, he had to think it was the first one. He had to.

Spencer clenched down tightly on the coffee mug. He avoided looking at the others, though he heard someone curse lowly in Russian. Natasha, he thought it was. "Even if someone… destroyed the arc reactor, or took it out, the signal would still transmit. It'd retain enough of a charge on its own to continue to transmit for a few days. Tony made sure of that. It's more likely they have him somewhere that prevents the signal from getting out." Or they'd removed him somewhere they were safe to get in there, try and take things apart, and they'd removed it.

"They were prepared for it." Sam said. He didn't sound happy by it. Not that Spencer could blame him. The idea that they were prepared for that, it didn't bode well on getting Tony home.

However, Spencer shook his head. "Not for the one in the reactor, I bet. Tony didn't advertise that. He didn't even keep blueprints for it with JARVIS. More likely, they assumed Tony would have some kind of hidden tech and planned for that." Which wasn't much better of a scenario. He couldn't focus on that, though. That was something he couldn't change. What Spencer had to focus on were the things he _could_ deal with. The things he was capable of changing or dealing with. He took a sip of his cooled down coffee and tried to bring his mind into focus. "J, can you search the last area that Tony's tracker registered at and bring up all the security cameras nearby? Go back thirty minutes before it stopped transmitting."

Leaning towards him to look at the map as well, Clint asked "Why thirty?"

"If these people are as sophisticated as I think they are, there's a good chance they'll have disabled the cameras somehow." Spencer explained, eyes on the image that JARVIS was now projecting directly in front of him. Leaning in, he watched as four cameras popped up on the screen, all showing different angles. "I want to see what happened before that point. Play it, JARVIS, and speed it up a bit. Half my usual speed, please." His usual was a lot faster and required him to be tapped into the electricity of the projects. Likely even linked to the cameras himself. This speed was what he could handle on his own, and even then it was still fast enough for the others to be caught off guard by it.

Spencer could hear them talking a little, Steve murmuring about what he was seeing and Natasha shushing him, her eyes on Spencer as much as the images. The young genius didn't care.

Right as Spencer started to perk up, catching sight of a car parking near the mouth of the alley but not actually _in_ it, Clint leaned forward and pointed at the same car. "There." He looked back at the others and then over to Spencer before turning back to the screen to study the car. "That's the car."

The young genius hummed in agreement. "Slow it down against, JARVIS. Zoom in a little more for me, please, and capture the license plate."

"Done, sir," JARVIS said just a second later. There was a short pause before he continued to speak. "The plate appears to be stolen. It belongs to a Honda Civic owned by an elderly couple down in Queens."

Of course. Smart way to do it if they were going to have a plate showing at all. His eyes weren't on the plate, though. They were on the people inside. With window angles, he could see in, and he imagined the windows would be tinted. _Come on, come on, get out, let me see your faces._ If he could get a glimpse of one of them, it'd be a hell of a clue to get them going on. It'd be _something_.

The car started to pull forward suddenly. There was a moment, a brief second where he thought he saw something in the window, a flash of a face and a hand… pressing a button of some sort? He thought it might be. Then there was no time to see anything else; the image went black.

Spencer set his mug down and sat forward even more in his chair. "Back it up ten seconds and pause it, please." He waited as the video backed up and then paused. Spencer kept his eyes glued to the screen and he reached out with his powers without thinking about it. It was just enough to nudge the video forward three quarters of a second and then he froze it.

The only person to notice anything was Clint. He was set up close enough that he caught the hint of blue that sparkled in Spencer's eyes briefly. The others simply assumed JARVIS had moved the video forward. Then no one was thinking about it, because Spencer leaned forward and used his hands to manipulate the image in front of him, pulling up the passenger side window. Everyone was focused on that image as a rather blurry looking face appeared there.

"JARVIS, can you clean that up?" Steve asked. He moved in close to Spencer, one hand on the back of his stool as he leaned in. Spencer didn't even notice it; he was too focused on the image in front of him.

"I can, Captain." JARVIS said, sounding almost eager. "It will take time, though."

A blindingly bright smile lit up Steve's face. "That's fine. Just do the best you can." That said, he turned to look at Spencer and lifted his hand, reaching to clap Spencer on the shoulder. He was stopped by Clint's hand darting out catching his wrist, stopping him before he could.

That was what Spencer turned around to. The movement of Clint's hand had been enough to snag Spencer's attention and he drew back even as he turned, eyebrows furrowed as he took in the scene in front of him. It was apparent that Steve had tried to touch him and Clint had stopped him. Why, he wasn't sure. Very few people understood Spencer's dislike of being touched. It was even rarer that they accommodated it. At least, with people outside of his team.

In contrast to Steve's curious look, and Spencer's confused one, Clint was smiling easily at them. He held on to Steve's hand for only a second and then let it drop. "It sounds like we've got a lead to start with." Turning, he aimed his smile at Spencer. "While JARVIS does his thing, why don't we go get you settled in? I'm sure you'd like a chance to… I don't know. Clean up or get comfortable or whatever it is you'd like to do before you bury yourself in this."

As much as Spencer didn't want to step away from this, he had to admit it was a good idea. There was a very good chance he'd lose himself in things and forget to take care of quite a few important things. However, that didn't mean that he couldn't work while he did it. If Clint was the one to escorting him around here—and how strange was it, to have an escort through his brother's home, like he shouldn't have free reign here?—then there was no reason for Spencer to hide what he could do. He'd be free to follow him, to talk, and to do whatever it was he had to do, while all the while hooking in with JARVIS and continuing to work. "That sounds great, thank you."

It escaped no one's notice how Spencer shifted so that Clint stayed between him and everyone else while they headed out of the room. Nor did he notice how everyone's eyes followed them as the two headed into the elevator.

The doors to the elevator had barely closed when Spencer reached out with his powers and strengthened his connection to JARVIS. Like this, he could process everything so much faster. It always made Tony joke that Spencer's brain was part computer. He could just download the information he got and understand it all a whole lot faster than the average human. As he took all that in, he also sent off a request to JARVIS, who responded immediately by sending the elevator down—despite the fact that Clint had hit the button to go up.

"Woah." Clint leaned back, looking up at the ceiling and then over at Spencer. He took note of Spencer's glowing eyes and gave a low chuckle. "All right, then. Who needs buttons when you're linked in directly."

The elevators took them down to the only floor that Spencer wanted to be on right then. He didn't want to go to his rooms, and he wasn't quite ready yet to walk through Tony's, so he chose the second best place, the one place that was most like home in this entire tower.

The workshop.

When the elevator doors opened and Clint saw what floor they were on, he didn't seem all that surprised, though he did slant a discreetly curious look Spencer's direction. One that the young genius ignored. "Thank you for the escort, Agent Barton." Spencer said politely, stepping out of the elevator. He turned himself and stopped Clint from following. "I can take it from here."

"Dr. Reid…"

"I assure you, I have the clearance to enter Tony's workshop. I'm not using my powers to manipulate my way in here," Spencer said.

JARVIS added his own reassurances in there before Clint could speak. "Indeed he is not, Agent Barton. Dr. Reid added his own protocols when Sir installed me at the tower that guarantee certain security measures kick into place if someone with powers similar to his own try to break in and override any of my current security protocols. If he were to attempt to force me to do something, or manipulate things to change around anything with security, a virus would attack that would render him unconscious."

When that got him a raised-eyebrows look, Spencer shrugged. There was a hint of color in his cheeks and he had to drop his gaze away just a bit. "I know what powers like mine are capable of. I wasn't going to leave Tony vulnerable."

Tony had thought it was going overboard. He'd figured there was no one out there with powers just like Spencer's. But Spencer had seen plenty of 'repeat powers' out in the world. Telepaths were a dime a dozen. Energy powers existed in abundance. What's to say there wasn't another out there with some kind of electrical power that might be able try and attack the tower that way? Spencer wasn't going to risk finding out.

After a moment of quiet Clint finally spoke again. "All right. We'll be up in the common room whenever you're ready to come up, Doc."

Spencer watched as the doors to the elevator closed and he had to admit, he hadn't expected it to be that easy. Not that he was going to protest; it was just surprising. He'd figured that no one would really be all that willing to leave him alone anywhere in this tower. But most especially here in the workshop.

He turned around to look at the doors to the workshop and had to fight back the sick feeling in his stomach. This was it. This was serious. So far, he'd kept his calm, kept in control, and made himself think of this all like it was just another case. It had allowed him to be cool and collected about the whole thing. To keep the panic at bay.

Now…

Now he was going to have to walk into Tony's workshop, and it was going to be real. Tony wasn't going to be in there blaring music at some godawful volume, working on at least eight different projects at once and grinning his way through all of them. There was going to be no big smile, no happy greeting, no arms opening up for a hug—none of the things that _needed_ to be there.

On slow, unsteady feet, Spencer made his way forward. JARVIS said nothing to him. Not even in their connection. He simply opened the doors when Spencer reached them, and closed them silently behind him.

A tremor ran down Spencer's body as he stared at the silent workshop. All around him were signs of the last time that Tony had been in here. A half-finished cup of coffee over on one table, a smoothie that Spencer was sure Dum-E had made judging by the streak of oil on the side of it, a project out on one tabletop, even a coat tossed carelessly onto a chair. That was the item that Spencer found himself making his way towards. He didn't think about it, didn't even realize that he was going to do it until he was right there, one hand reaching out to curl overtop of it.

The material felt soft underneath his fingers. This wasn't one of Tony's nice suit jackets, or one of the ones that he wore when he wanted to put on an image. No, this was his casual one. One that he put on when he was trying to be someone other than Tony Stark, playboy, billionaire, one of the most known men in the world.

Spencer remembered when his brother had gotten it. The two had been out together, the both of them in disguise so no one would recognize them as Tony dragged Spencer out of the beach house they'd been staying at and down to the Saturday Market of the little town they were in on the coast of Maine. The Market hadn't had just fresh fruit and seafood, it'd also had stands for people to sell homemade items, or clothes, or various household items.

Spencer had been fascinated by the things he saw even if he hadn't been fond of that many people. He'd dealt with it okay, though. Especially since Tony spent almost the entire trip with one arm slung around Spencer's shoulders, keeping his little brother easily tucked against his side while they went from stall to stall. This jacket had been at one of those stalls. It looked like a military surplus jacket, only it was a dark blue and made of something just a bit softer, yet no less warm. Tony had loved it for some strange reason.

It was easy for Spencer to picture how Tony had looked that day. He'd put on his new jacket almost immediately, looking as happy as he did buying from some of the highest end boutiques out there, and he'd given that huge grin of his that made his eyes almost disappear and put the laugh lines on his face. He'd had a beanie on to combat the coastal chill that came from being so close to the ocean, and he'd dressed in casual jeans and a band t-shirt. Pink Floyd, it'd been. Spencer could see all of it so clearly thanks to his eidetic memory. That was an image he held close to his heart. It was one of his big brother, of just Tony, not trying to be anyone else but himself.

Tears burned Spencer's eyes and slipped free to blaze paths down his cheeks. He pulled the jacket off the chair, tugging it close and bowing his head over it. God, Tony would mock him mercilessly if he saw him crying over a damn _coat_. Only, thinking of that made Spencer's tears come faster. He'd take Tony's mocking if it meant that he was _home_.

 _I'll find you,_ Spencer promised, holding even tighter to the coat. _I swear, I'll find you._


	5. Chapter 5

It didn't surprise Clint to find that the rest of his team was talking when he got back upstairs—nor did it surprise him what they were talking about. Bruce was the one speaking when the elevator doors opened and let Clint out. "…Tony trusts him, maybe we should too."

"I promise you, there's no one I know that Tony trusts more," Pepper told them, sounding just as unruffled as usual. "Not even Jim."

Now, that was a surprising little tidbit that Clint logged away in his head. Everyone knew that James Rhodes was Tony's best friend and had been since college. If Clint had been asked to pick one single person that Tony would trust, it would've been him. Yet Pepper was calmly telling them that Tony trusted this Spencer more than he trusted anyone, even him. That said a whole lot about their relationship. If it weren't for the fact that Clint knew what Tony and Bruce were building with each other—slowly, yeah, but they were getting there—he might've thought there was something more than just platonic between Spencer and Tony. Maybe it was a one-sided thing, then?

"What do you think, Clint?"

Natasha was looking right over at him, not the least bit surprised by his presence, though the others jumped when Clint came into view. He shot a discreet glare at Natasha that only earned him a small smug twitch to her lips. He could've stayed there and listened in for a little longer if she hadn't given him away!

Still, she'd pointed him out, and there was no hiding now. Clint made himself move as casually as possible while he made his way into the room. It was both deliberate and habit that he went to the kitchen counter and perched himself there. He sat on the edge, legs dangling and hands braced right on the edge. "I think if Pepper says Stark trusts him, we should believe her. She'd be the one to know."

Steve eyed him for a moment, obviously debating, and then he turned himself a little more towards him. Whatever he'd seen on Clint had him looking more curious. "What do you know about him?"

It was easy for Clint to make his decision on how to answer. "Not much." He shrugged one shoulder and relaxed down a little more in a pose he knew was both casual and lazy looking. Natasha shot him a sharp look and he gave a miniscule shake of his head.

There was no way he was going to give them any information he had on the kid. What he'd read in the file Fury gave him was half assed—there was no doubt in Clint's mind that things were missing. It wasn't easily noticeable; not unless a person had experience with cover stories. Still, Clint was pretty sure what little information there was in there was true, and he wasn't going to give that to anyone. Not even Natasha.

The way the others were looking at him made it clear they weren't quite buying it. Clint just smiled. Let them think what they wanted. He knew how to do his job.

He didn't have to give away things, though. Pepper neatly took care of some of that for him. "Look," she said, straightening herself up and looking around at them all with an expression that made it clear she'd come to some sort of decision, "there is no one out there who is going to be more dedicated to finding Tony than Spencer is. There's also no one else I'd want on the job first. No offense to you guys or anything, but Spencer…I've seen some of what he can do when he puts his mind to something. I know he doesn't look like much, but don't make the mistake of judging him just by his looks. I promise you, he's so much more."

With that, she turned around and made her way to the elevator, not once looking back.

It was a pretty little speech and it left Clint wondering just how much Pepper actually knew about the kid. Did she know all of what was in the file that Clint had read? Did she know the stuff that _wasn't_ in there?

Natasha cast a curious look Clint's way. Then she shook her head. Silently, she turned and left as well. That left just Steve, Clint, and Bruce there in the kitchen.

Clint ignored Steve. He wasn't disturbed by the way the man was looking at him. If he hadn't learned how to read Clint so far, he wasn't going to get anything out of him now. Better and more skilled people than him had tried. Not that he would really think to look too deep. Clint had worked hard to build his lazy, airheaded, idiotic persona. He'd learned a long time ago to never let people know how smart you really were.

However, the way that Bruce was looking at him wasn't quite as easy to ignore. This had hit Bruce so much harder than the rest of him. He was riding the razor's edge of hulking out most days. His eyes were clear now as they looked at Clint, no sign of green, but there was worry, stress, and a shrewd calculation that people often missed. "You trust him?"

That was a loaded question. Clint trusted very few people and he didn't know this kid anywhere near well enough to add him to that list. "I trust that he wants to find Stark." That was the best that Clint could give right now.

It seemed to be enough for Bruce. He gave a small nod. Clint just hoped he wouldn't come to regret those words.

* * *

Eventually Clint extracted himself from the others and he escaped into the vents to hide out and go do a little work. Namely, slip down towards the workshop and spy on the kid down there. He really should've figured that there was no way to sneak up on someone who could tap right into JARVIS.

Clint had barely set himself up in the vent—he'd only been watching Spencer for a few minutes, just as amazed with him as he was with Tony when he watched him navigate so many of his screens, with so many different projects going all at the same time—when JARVIS spoke to him. "Dr. Reid would like you to know that you're welcome to come and watch from the inside if you'd prefer somewhere more comfortable than the ventilation shaft."

Clint huffed out a laugh and shook his head. Go figure. He pried open the vent in front of him and set it on the other side, but he didn't jump down. He just folded his arms and rested his head right there at the hole. "Probably better if I stay up here out of the way of everything."

"As you wish," Spencer responded. He didn't look away from the various screens in the air in front of him. His hands were moving and, though Clint couldn't see anything for them to be doing, when Spencer turned he caught a flash of blue in his eyes that said the kid was using his powers.

He seemed perfectly at home here in Tony's workshop. That, combined with the way JARVIS trusted him, and Pepper's proclamation of Tony's trust, made Clint more and more curious. There was a story here, he had a feeling. One that he wasn't likely going to be able to get without working at it.

One of the screens shifted images and began streaming data too fast for Clint to really catch much. Not that he understood a lot of it. What he was catching so far suggested that Spencer was analyzing any of the current threats against Tony. At least, on two of the screens. Another screen seemed to show threats against the Avengers. Then, on another one, Clint raised his eyebrows in surprise when he saw there was information about General Ross. Was—was he researching Bruce? The rest of the team?

Casually, Clint let out a low whistle. "That's a lot of facts you got going there, Doc."

For a second there was no response. Spencer continued to wave his hands, sifting through this and that. After a brief pause, during which Clint was sure he was going to be ignored, Spencer finally answered. "I know you've all done your research on current threats, but a second or even third set of eyes never hurts. I'm analyzing every threat JARVIS has record of against Tony, the Avengers as a whole, or Bruce."

"Bruce?"

"If they really were heading out on a date, what's to say that someone didn't take him as a way to try and get to Bruce? To the Hulk?"

Clint winced. "Do me a favor and don't mention that around him."

Those electric eyes flashed up towards Clint again. "I may not be the most emotionally or socially knowledgeable person, but even I wouldn't be that cruel, Agent Barton." He turned back towards his screens, his back to Clint. The sharpness of his words had Clint looking at him with surprise. He hadn't expected that kind reaction, nor that response. As he stared down at the other man, trying to add in this little piece of the puzzle, he saw Spencer's shoulders tense just a little bit. "Bruce and Tony… they're good for each other?"

There was something underneath that question that made it more than just casual. Maybe Clint had been right earlier in thinking there was some one-sided unrequited love here. As bad as that made him feel for this guy, it didn't stop Clint from answering honestly. "Yeah. They get one another, in a way I don't think they get all that often. It's crazy and it's weird, and it shouldn't work, but it does."

Some of the tension bled out of Spencer's body. "Good. And Dr. Banner, he's, well, he's good?"

This time it was Clint who went tense. Was Spencer trying to imply something about the Hulk here? It had the archer feeling a moment of disappointment. He'd hoped that Spencer wasn't going to be one of _those_ idiots. "Yeah, he's good," he said flatly. "He doesn't Hulk out on Tony, if that's what you're so worried about."

To his surprise, Spencer actually dropped his hands and spun around to face him at that. His mouth was open slightly and his eyes were wide. Lifting his hands, he waved them in front of him. "No, no! I wasn't trying to imply anything like that!"

"Then what exactly were you implying, Doc?"

"I wasn't trying to imply anything!" Spencer protested. "I was simply trying to ascertain the type of person that he is. While I've heard about him though Tony, and I've read about him, I have no idea about the man himself and I'd like to at least know something about the person who's managed to make my… to make Tony attempt to settle down."

There was nothing but honesty in those words. Clint could read it all over his face. Though, he was curious about what Spencer had been about to call Tony. 'My' what, exactly? "He's good." Clint finally settled on saying. Whatever Spencer was to Tony, they were friends at least, and it wasn't outside the realm of reason that Spencer would want to know about the man his friend was dating. "Bruce is, well, he's a genius. He's got a temper, as you probably already know, but when he's not the Other Guy, he's pretty mellow. Snarky sometimes. Good sense of humor even if people don't seem to realize it. His is just, less noticeable. Dryer. He keeps Tony on his toes. They geek out together, lose time down here in the workshop until I drag them out to eat. They pick at each other, fight, laugh, all that. Tony's not afraid of the Hulk like the rest of the world is, and I don't think Bruce gets that from anyone else. You'll catch him watching Tony sometimes with this look of awe on his face." It was sort of heartbreaking to see.

Spencer's lips curved up into a small, genuine smile. "He sounds perfect for him."

He really was. The two completed one another.

A beeping sound alerted both men to Dum-E's presence. The bot rolled forward, a smoothie in his hand. The way that Spencer smiled at him reminded Clint of how Tony was when no one else was around. He loved his bots like they were his kids. It would seem that Spencer felt the same, if the soft "Thanks, kiddo" he gave was any indication. He took the smoothie from Dum-E and patted his head, making the bot chirp happily, and then he straightened back up and made his way back to his screens. His eyes were already glowing again, lost in the information.

That was fine. Clint settled into his perch and resigned himself to a few hours of genius-watch. It wasn't the first time he'd done it and he doubted it would be the last.


	6. Chapter 6

It took three days of almost nonstop work in the workshop before something happened to draw Spencer out of there. Nothing cropped up in the threats against the Avengers, nor in the ones against Tony, and so far there'd been nothing on any of the people who made threats against Bruce. Spencer had a watch on General Ross just in case. He also might've—maybe, potentially, there was no real _proof_ he'd done anything—screwed around with the man's electronic life a little, changing around passwords, messing with his bank account, screwing with pretty much anything that could be screwed with. If he was even thinking of trying anything, which nothing so far had indicated he was going to, this would keep him too busy to do it for quite a while.

Spencer made a mental note to come back to it when he had more time. If Bruce was this important to Tony, he was important to Spencer as well. Family took care of one another.

There hadn't been anything on the face they'd pulled from the car, either, one JARVIS got it cleaned up. Not that Spencer had expected much. There was only so much that image could be cleaned and that meant the likelihood of find a match for it wasn't going to be all that great. So far, the person wasn't showing up in any databases. JARVIS and Spencer were both beyond frustrated with it. That just made them work that much harder, though.

The other Avengers had each come down to the workshop a few times to try and get Spencer out of there. Even Pepper had come by to try and help draw him out. The only person that actually managed to make it inside was Clint, and that was only because Spencer had let JARVIS know that Clint was apparently his bodyguard and it was easier to let him in than try and lock him out. It'd make SHIELD happier in the long run and Spencer could put up with a shadow if it meant those vultures weren't on his back.

However, Clint proved that he could be a rather annoying shadow if he really wanted to be. Most of the time he was content to either hang out in the vents, disappear for a while, or come down and relax in one of the chairs against the far wall that were set up in a way that made Spencer wonder if they'd been installed just for this man. But once in a while Clint got it into his head to play nursemaid more than shadow. He'd bring Spencer food and insist that he eat; he even enlisted JARVIS in helping him with that! He also demanded that Spencer get some sleep. "I don't care if you sleep down here, Doc. Just _sleep_."

It was annoying and it took time away from his work, yet Spencer knew Clint was right. He needed to sleep and eat to be on top of his game.

There were other times that Clint proved he could be a rather entertaining companion. He didn't mind chatting with Spencer, so long as he was reassured he wasn't disturbing him. He'd tell Spencer stories all about Tony, about the Avengers here, about some of their missions where Tony did something that would make Spencer laugh.

He probed a little, too, trying to find out about Spencer. Not that Spencer could blame him. He gave him what little he could. The rest, well, they were secrets for a reason.

But after three straight days in here, he finally ended up drawn out of there when something pinged on one of the alerts he'd set up. Spencer cut off in mid conversation with Clint to snap his head up. Immediately he had a holo-screen in front of him. What he saw there had him seething. Someone was trying to research him _? Him?_ No, not just research him – they were trying to view his confidential SHIELD file. The one that Clint had been given access to.

"Who are you?" Spencer murmured, reaching out with his powers. He followed the trail of it and found where the hack was at. It was easy to stop it from going further. Then, holding tight, he dove in and followed the trail it left, taking him to a laptop being used down in the lobby of the Tower. One that, as soon as he tapped into the webcam, it would appear one Natasha Romanov was using.

Spencer was absolutely livid. How dare she? _How dare she_?

"Dr. Reid?" Clint's voice broke through Spencer's fury and had his head snapping to the side. He found the archer watching him, every inch of his body on alert. Those sharp eyes were locked right on Spencer. "What's going on?"

"Your friend is an idiot," Spencer snapped. He focused back on the electricity that only he could see at the moment and he sent a nasty virus into the computer. As it took over and shut the computer off, he had it flash one message. "GET UPSTAIRS"

As soon as that was done, Spencer was waving a hand sharply and banishing everything from the room. Then he was on his feet and was marching straight for the elevator. He waited only long enough for Clint to join him in the elevator and then the doors were snapping shut and they were moving quickly up towards the common floor. It took a lot of control for Spencer to lock his powers away; he didn't want that light flashing in his eyes around the others.

By the time he reached the common floor, his eyes were just their normal brown. It was a close thing, though. He could feel his powers underneath his skin aching to be set free. Strong emotions always made his control worse, and right now, Spencer was _furious_.

He marched off the elevator and found that, somehow, Natasha had beaten them here. That was fine by him, though. He ignored everyone else as he marched right up towards her. "I don't care who you are," Spencer told her in a voice gone flat and hard. "You have absolutely no right to go snooping around SHIELD and pulling up my personal, confidential file. What's in my file is absolutely none of your concern. Are we clear on that?"

"You're in our home, in Tony's workshop, with access to JARVIS and all our secrets," Natasha said calmly. She ignored the surprised looks from the others and the chiding look from Clint that Spencer couldn't see. Her focus stayed right on Spencer. "It's only fair that we have access to yours as well."

How dare she? "You could've asked me. Or even Agent Barton," Spencer said, flinging a hand out Clint's direction. "After all, he's acting as my handler here. He's had full access to my files, per Director Fury's orders." The way that she looked at him as he said that, still and silent, had him raising his eyebrows. "He hasn't told you anything."

"Clint takes his job seriously," Natasha said smoothly.

Well then. Wow. That hadn't been what Spencer had expected. He was grateful for it, though. "If your own friend hasn't felt the need to share things with you, nor has Director Fury, or myself, or even _Tony_ , then what makes you think you have the right to rise above all that and go gather the information yourself?" He lifted his chin and refused to back down from the dangerous look no her face. This was his file, his life, and he wasn't going to let her reach out and destroy it simply because of curiosity. "Stay out of my personal file, Agent Romanov. Or I might have to go and take a look through yours. Do we understand one another?"

She shot him a cold look that left him feeling like she'd gladly cut him to pieces if he so much as breathed wrong in her presence. Then, without a word, she turned and left.

For a long moment no one said anything. Then Clint stepped forward, one hand going to rest on Spencer's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Doc. I'll talk to her, all right?"

"I don't think she means any harm," Bruce said gently. He was off to the side beside Steve and another man that Spencer hadn't met yet, but that he knew had to be Thor. "She just… I think she views him like a brother. This isn't easy for her."

It hurt more than Spencer had thought it would to listen to someone else claim Tony as a brother while Spencer was still unable to do so. He had to lie; hide it from everyone. Yet this woman he didn't even know got to come in here and do stupid things and claim status of 'siblings' to excuse it. All the while, Spencer had to keep a tight rein on himself so he wouldn't give away the true nature of their relationship.

A shudder ran down Spencer's body and he closed his eyes. "I understand." _More than you can even begin to know, Dr. Banner._ Drawing in a steadying breath, he opened his eyes and made sure that nothing showed, none of the pain he was feeling inside. "However, that is no excuse. My file was already given to one of you without my consent, Dr. Banner. I see no reason to let it happen a second time. Now, if you'll excuse me."

He gave Bruce and everyone else no chance to say a word. Head down, he hurried away from them. The last thing he wanted was to let any of them see him break in any way.

* * *

Clint watched the Doc go and tried not to groan out loud. Well, that was a big giant mess that he hadn't been expecting. Really, though, he should have. He should've anticipated that Natasha wasn't going to just sit back and do nothing when some stranger was brought into their midst. As her friend, he could understand it. He knew how much she cared about Tony, and caring about _anyone_ wasn't easy for Natasha. When she finally gave in to it, it was with everything in her, even if she didn't always let the other person know. But at the same time, as Spencer's handler here and the one in charge of protecting him, he couldn't just let this fly.

When Clint looked up he found everyone looking at him. Steve, Bruce—even Thor was here. Though Clint knew he'd gotten in that morning, he hadn't had a chance to greet him yet. He also knew that Natasha would be somewhere close by. She might've left but that didn't mean she'd gone far. Clint was pretty positive she was still within hearing distance.

That was perfect. He wanted all of them to hear him. "Look, guys, I get that everyone's unhappy about the Doc being here." Best to start out trying to placate them a bit. Maybe they'd take the rest of what he had to say just a bit easier. "I get it, it's not fun, and it's weird. He comes in out of nowhere and he's got the run of the whole place, it feels like. Hell, he's even down in Stark's workshop." That, more than anything else, probably got to them all. Getting into Tony's workshop wasn't an easy thing to do. The amount of trust it showed that he had it set up for Spencer to go in there, and that he was capable of _locking them out_ while in there, it was immense. But that was Clint's point here. "As much as we may not be happy about it, you can't deny that there's some sort of bond between him and Stark. He clearly trusts him. So does Fury, at least a bit. And so do I."

"You trust him?" Steve asked. He sounded like he wasn't quite sure what to make of that.

Clint shrugged one shoulder at him. "I saw his file, Cap. I know what he's got to lose by being here." In quite a few different ways. "He's trying his best to keep himself safe while trying to find Stark, but something tells me he'd let it all go to hell if it meant bringing him home. I'm not saying all of us should just start trusting him now. I'm just saying, give the kid a bit of the same respect he's giving us."

With nothing more than that he set out from the room. That was probably a lot more insightful than most of the people here expected him to be. Well, most of them except Natasha. She was one of the few who actually knew the real him underneath everything.

Because she knew him, she was waiting for him in the vents when he climbed in there. He wasn't all that surprised to find her sitting near a vent between the living room and the elevators. She'd either tried to go down and been denied, or she was waiting for him. Potentially both.

Her eyes were sharp as they locked on him the minute he came into view. He made his way to her before shifting himself into a comfortable position. There wasn't any reason she'd be up here except to talk to him. One thing he knew about Natasha was that he couldn't push her to do that talking. It had to be on her terms.

They sat there together for a few long moments of silence. Eventually, she spoke to him, never once looking away from his face. "I don't trust him."

"You don't trust anyone," Clint pointed out.

She shrugged one shoulder negligently.

Sighing, Clint laid his head back. "You trust me, most of the time. Can't you trust me on this? He's a good kid, Tash."

"Your judgment goes out the window around a pretty face," she said flatly. That had his eyes snapping up towards her with surprise. She met his surprise with calm amusement. "What? I'm not blind. He's just your type."

"He's a job."

"Not forever." With the grace that she was known for, she slid forward towards the open vent. When her legs were dangling out, she turned herself to look at him, running a worried and assessing gaze over him. Once her eyes made their way back to his face, she spoke again, her voice softer this time. "I'm not going to stop watching. I won't let him hurt you." With that warning, she slipped down out of the grate, leaving him alone in his vents.

Clint stared after her a moment before shaking his head. That was pure Natasha. Short, cryptic, and just a bit threatening. It kind of summed her up perfectly. She didn't know what she was talking about, though. It wasn't like he was attracted to the kid or anything like that. Sure, he was good looking, and he was smart and a bit shy, something that Clint couldn't ever quite resist, but that didn't mean that he was going to do anything about it and it sure didn't mean he was going to mess up his job. He knew how to remain professional.

Shaking his head once more, he reached out and closed the vent she'd left open. Then he set off towards the workshop once more. Likely Spencer was still going to be upset in there. It might do him some good to have someone to vent to.


	7. Chapter 7

What came next for Spencer was a rage and grief filled spree of work that almost rivaled what the Avengers had seen from Tony. The kid refused to leave the workshop for the next five days. He stayed in there, working almost nonstop, and he started to ignore Clint when the archer popped in to try and get him to eat or take a break. What was the point in stopping? He needed to find Tony—he needed to bring his brother home. The rest of it wasn't important. Tony wouldn't ever stop looking for him. How could Spencer do anything less?

Not even JARVIS was able to get Spencer to stop. The one time that he tried, Spencer overrode him with the master code. It earned him quite a frosty silence afterwards. "I'm sorry, J." Spencer said softly, staring up at the ceiling where one of the cameras sat. "I know you're trying to help, but I can't… I have to do this, okay? I have to. I need to bring him home."

"Far me it from me to overstep my bounds, sir." There was enough sarcasm in JARVIS's tone to make Spencer wince there. "But what good exactly are you going to be to Sir if you work yourself to death before you manage to bring him back?"

"I don't need to be the one to bring him back. I just need to find him. There are others here far better suited to bringing him home."

"Others that our captor has had time to prepare for and think of how to get around. So far, this being has managed to take Sir from us and keep him hidden. It is no great stretch to believe he's studied the team and has planned ways around them. Your presence will be an unknown, and might be the only thing that makes a retrieval mission successful."

Yeah, that was something that Spencer had thought of. It didn't mean that he liked the idea, though. Because if he went in to get Tony back it was going to be with every weapon he had at his disposal.

A sigh left Spencer as he gave in to some of his exhaustion and dropped down onto the nearby couch. His body was aching from what he'd put it through and it felt more than a little good to relax like this. Closing his eyes, he brought a hand up to rub at the headache that had been bugging him for the past few hours. Aside from his break to yell at Natasha, he'd been in this lab a week. A whole week that he'd been busting his ass to try and bring Tony home – a week that Tony had been gone. When he stopped to let himself think about that, it was like a punch to the gut. That made it one full month that Tony had been missing. A damn _month_!

"I need him to come home, JARVIS." The words were soft, pulled from the aching place inside of him. "I don't…I just need him to come home. I know I'm being terrible and rude and selfish. I know it, I just can't, I don't have the room in me to care about it. If I focus on that, I'm going to have to focus on the rest of it, and I don't know if I'm going to be able to pick myself back up enough to keep working." He was afraid he was going to break if he stopped. The tears he'd allowed himself on the first day, those were all he'd allowed so far. That didn't mean that they were gone. He felt them burning underneath the surface, ready to rip him apart if he relaxed.

When JARVIS spoke again, his tone was much softer than before, some of that frost melting away. "While Sir's safety is my primary protocol, your safety is ranked almost equal, Dr. Reid. I'm not asking you to stop. I'm simply asking you take the basic care that your body requires. You've been using your powers without adequately maintaining your own health. Prolonged use like this has its side effects. You require sleep and food to replenish the energy you've put out."

"Your powers burn your energy?"

The question startled Spencer, who hadn't even known that Clint had arrived. He looked up in time to watch as Clint dropped down from a vent just a few feet away. The archer was watching him with a stern look that was a lot sharper than any of his previous ones. It was no real mystery why, either. Spencer tilted his head up to cast a betrayed look at a nearby camera. "Traitor." He knew JARVIS had said that deliberately, knowing that Clint was listening in.

Considering what he'd learned about Clint during his time here, it wasn't any real surprise that he came forward and reached out to tug Spencer up off the couch. What was a surprise was that Spencer didn't flinch from the touch. In fact, he didn't say anything as Clint tugged him up, the archer glaring at him the entire time. "Alright, that's it. No more hiding out. We're going to go and pack you full of food."

"Potassium rich foods help to replace the electrolytes in his body." JARVIS chimed in. "Extended use of his powers also seems to lower his glucose level, so hypoglycemia is a cocern."

" _JARVIS_ …" Spencer began.

He was cut off by a shake of the head from Clint and another tug on his hand—a hand that Clint had yet to let go of. "Nuh-uh, Doc. You've already been ratted out. Come on, time to get you upstairs."

It was much easier to simply let Clint drag him over to the elevator. Spencer had to fight not to slump against the elevator walls as he forced himself to let go of his links with the electricity in the workshop. Much as he was loathe to admit it, JARVIS was right in trying to get him to stop. Spencer had the ability to handle a lot of electricity. But to use it constantly the way that he had been recently? That required that he put back in the proper food to help fuel it. Tony had tested it for him and he'd found the right kind of diet to put Spencer on to help him maintain weight, depending on just how much power he was working with. He was firm on making sure that Spencer followed it whenever he was around, too. Ironic, really, considering that the engineer could go for _days_ without eating or sleeping, and see nothing wrong with it. "I'm a normal human with normal human limits, kid." Tony told him often. Then he'd usually grin or reach out to ruffle Spencer's hair or tweak his ear. "You're not. You don't learn to take care of yourself, you're going to get scrawny enough to start hiding behind light posts."

"You should take better care of yourself." Clint said in an eerie echo of the memories in Spencer's head. He was watching Spencer as the elevator took them up to what Spencer would bet would be the common floor. "You're not going to be any help to Stark if you half kill yourself doing this, you know."

The last thing he wanted was to hear another lecture on his eating or working habits. Because of that, he reacted in a way that he'd learned from Tony, which wasn't exactly the healthiest but it'd saved him a few times. He changed the subject and moved the spotlight firmly off of him by asking "Why do you call him Stark?" The elevator doors opened and the two stepped out. They weren't holding hands anymore but Clint put a hand in the small of Spencer's back to nudge him forward. The genius ignored it as he slanted a look at the archer. "Do you do it as a way to distance yourself from him, to maybe worry less while he's gone? Or is it simply in retaliation for him calling you Barton all the time?"

A huff from up ahead had Spencer looking up and taking notice of the group at the table. Thor and Steve were sitting there eating what looked to be an entire pizza each. Though, there were other boxes on the table that suggested there was more. Maybe they were expecting others to join them?

"You ask pretty blunt questions." Clint told Spencer as he nudged him towards the empty end of the table. It wasn't hard for him to get Spencer to sit down. This wasn't the first time someone had directed Spencer around and it probably wouldn't be the last. Tony did it all the time; Derek did it as well. Spencer was mostly used to it.

Tilting his head a little, Spencer watched as Clint walked over to the coffee pot. "I wasn't meaning to be offensive. I was just, curious." He wanted to know about these people that were a part of Tony's life.

Clint snagged a couple mugs from the cupboard and poured a cup for himself as well as a cup for Spencer. Then he brought Spencer's mug over, after adding plenty of creamer to it, something he'd discovered days ago that Spencer loved. "I'm not offended. An I don't know why, either. We just, do."

The warmth of the mug seeped into Spencer's hands, which were colder than he'd realized. Likely that was why Clint had brought him the coffee. He must've felt the chill to Spencer's fingers when he'd grabbed his hand. Holding on and letting his hands warm up, Spencer nodded, still focusing on Clint. It was easier to do than focusing on the other two men at the table. "My team and I are the same way. We work with the public where we go by our last names. Agent Morgan, Agent Prentiss, Dr. Reid. When you use that form of address frequently enough, it becomes habit."

"It sounds like quite the job you do." Steve said, leaning forward to rest his folded arms on the table. There was a twist to his lips, a hint of lines at his eyes, and then the way he leaned forward—if this was the way that he spoke to Tony, it was no wonder the two butted heads so much.

With anyone else Spencer had learned to curtail the things that popped into his head. Not everyone needed to hear every thought that he had. However, he had no such problems saying it now, especially to this person that Spencer knew Tony had tried so hard to impress—no matter how much he claimed otherwise—and who he felt found him constantly lacking. "Do you realize that your body language comes off as extremely confrontational and judgmental?" Spencer asked him. "I don't know if it's intentional or not, but it's what you display. You should try to work on that, Captain. People are more likely to answer your questions if they feel like they've found a friend in you, not a critic." That was simple interrogation 101.

Because he was looking back down at his cup, he missed the stunned way that Steve was looking at him, as well as the highly amused look on Clint's face. For his part, Thor just chuckled and then beamed right at Spencer when the young genius looked up. "Our apologies, young friend. This was not meant to feel like an interrogation. Though I must admit, I do have questions, and I would love to hear tales of our Man of Iron. The Captain informs me you've known him for quite some time."

Spencer's stomach clenched a little and he felt a tug at his senses – his program downstairs was still running, expanding the search of that face into bigger databases, international ones, and wouldn't his team be stunned to know their law-abiding genius was hacking into Interpol? Nothing new was on the program, it was just filtering more data, and Spencer tried not to sigh. "I really should be back downstairs. I've got…"

"Time enough to sit down and eat." Clint cut in.

Anything else that Clint or Spencer might've said was cut off by the sound of a nearby door. Spencer turned his head automatically to see who was coming, not really paying much attention at first when he saw Natasha. Then… then he saw the person coming in beside Natasha and – every inch of Spencer went still. His hands froze and his whole body was like a statue. He didn't even _breathe_. The entirety of his focus was on the man walking in at Natasha's side, grinning at her as she told him something obviously amusing.

 _The Winter Soldier_.

He was grinning, ready to laugh, walking so calmly and easily, as if it were no big deal at all that he was inside Tony's home. As if he had a _right_ to be here.

Nausea churned in Spencer's gut. It took every ounce of control he had not to scream; to lift up his coffee cup and just throw it as he gathered up the energy in his hands. What – what was he doing here? Why was no one reacting? The Captain and Thor, they both looked up and called out a happy greeting, Steve practically beaming and leaning in the Soldier's direction as if he couldn't quite help himself, like he was drawn towards him. Even Clint looked at ease as he lifted a hand in a lazy wave. Though, the archer was watching Spencer, his eyes sharp as they ran over his face, and Spencer could only imagine what he looked like.

Before Spence even realized what he was doing he found himself on his feet and already moving. Not towards the Soldier – God, no! He skirted the man as much as possible and curved deliberately around him and Natasha before hurrying towards the elevator. He didn't stop to listen to what anyone was saying to him. He didn't even pause. When the elevator doors opened in front of him, Spencer darted over that last bit of space and threw himself in there, his body connecting hard with the back of the elevator. The door shut behind him before anyone else could even get close and then JARVIS was taking him away.

Spencer held onto the elevator railing and tried to control his breathing. His hands were shaking and his whole body was aching with the need to run, to _go_ , to get as far away from here as possible. The fight, flight, or freeze response had kicked in, and for Spencer that almost always meant flight. He always ran. The need to do it now was strong, but when the doors finally opened it wasn't to someplace that Spencer could run. It was the workshop.

This was almost as good. Spencer let shaky legs carry him out of the elevator and straight into Tony's sanctuary. When the doors shut behind him, he heard JARVIS say "Blackout protocols in effect. Complete lab lockdown," there was no denying that it took away some of Spencer's tension. He was safe in here. He was _safe_.

That knowledge took away the sharper edge of his shock and fear. However, that also drained away some of what had been fueling him, and Spencer found his legs giving way underneath him. He let himself sink right there in the middle of the labs until his knees hit the floor. The crack they made that echoed through the air didn't even register with him. "J-JARVIS." He was stuttering – he hated when he stuttered! But he couldn't stop it. "W-What… what is he d-doing h-here?"

"Sir has been helping him to work on breaking the programming that Hydra placed on his mind." JARVIS answered promptly.

"Pr-program-ming?"

Because JARVIS was amazing, and he understood that Spencer needed facts and things to be able to understand, he didn't hesitate to give him all the information. He told Spencer all about what was done to the Winter Soldier. About how Hydra had controlled him, implanting triggers into his brain, wiping his mind – the whole thing. He told Spencer everything. By the time he was done, Spencer felt like he was going to be sick.

It wasn't hard to see why Tony had the Soldier here now. No, not the Soldier. James Barnes. Logically, Spencer could see exactly why Tony was doing this.

Emotionally? Emotionally, Spencer wanted to punch his brother, repeatedly. Then he wanted Tony to hug him. Pathetic as that was to admit, even to himself, it was true. He could really use one of Tony's hugs right about now. Curling his arms around himself didn't quite provide the same comforting effect.

"Why didn't he tell me?" Spencer asked quietly. "I mean… he told me about the Soldier… about what he did…" Pausing, holding on to himself tighter, Spencer closed his eyes and tried so hard to ignore the energy around him, ignore everything. "Why didn't he tell me he was here?"

There was a brief pause before JARVIS spoke again. "I believe that he wanted to protect you, sir. He practiced how to tell you many times, yet never quite made it to actually doing it. He was afraid, I believe, that you might not understand why he chose to do this."

 _Tony_. It wasn't hard to picture him thinking that way. Worrying about Spencer's reaction, worrying about how it would hurt him, about how mad he might be, never once thinking that maybe if Spencer had known he could've found a way to be there for Tony. What he was doing – it couldn't be easy. It had to be one of the hardest things he'd done to have James Barnes in here, in his home, and try to help him overcome the very programming that had allowed him to kill Howard and Maria. Just that thought was enough to make Spencer flinch as if struck.

Spencer knew he needed to calm down and think about this rationally. Right at the moment, he wanted nothing more than to claw at his skin, to pull away this aching crawling feeling that was skittering over and inside of him. Squeezing his eyes shut tighter, he tried to push away the emotion, the things that he shouldn't be feeling right now. This pain and grief weren't going to get him anywhere! He needed to calm down. To _think_.

Slowly, he began to rock, barely even noticing he was doing it at first. When he realized, he almost stopped himself, almost forced his body to stop its motion. In the back of his mind he swore he heard Tony's low, familiar murmur, or that he could feel the older man's body curling over and around his as he'd sweep Spencer into the tightest hug. _"Quit it,_ " He'd tell Spencer each time he'd catch him stopping himself like this. _"Stop trying to hold it back. You're in a safe place here, Spencer. Do what you need to do."_

It was hard to break through so many years of habit, though. Both of his fathers had hated his rocking. Howard had curled his lip up at it, sneering at him in a way that had made his disgust clear, and William had taken his cues from that. He'd worked so hard to try and make Spencer into something that he wasn't, trying to make him into a person that Howard would want to claim one day. Not that William had wanted it for Spencer's sake – oh, no. He'd wanted the money he was sure would come with it. "You're a Stark." He'd told Spencer more than once. "Rightfully, some of that should be _yours_."

The only people that hadn't cared were his Mom, Jarvis, and Tony. No one else had ever gotten to see him like that.

Once, Spencer could remember, when he was about ten years old, he'd been visiting Jarvis and Ana and he'd had to tell them about William. About him leaving them. Spencer had been so stressed, so on edge, and he hadn't really been able to control his reactions to things the way he usually did. Fabric felt like sandpaper against his skin, his hearing kept getting loud and then quiet and then loud again, and it was all too bright, but he'd kept talking, kept trying to explain things through stuttering breaths until a low noise interrupted him.

When he'd looked up, he'd found Howard there watching him rock and hold himself, disgust clear on his face, and Tony had been at his side. Tony, who'd just turned twenty-one a few days ago, which was half the reason that Spencer was here. His brother had taken one look at him and crossed the room in an instant. Then he'd gotten right behind Spencer and wrapped him up in a hug that was firm and steady and hard enough that it'd taken away that strange, drifty feeling that had been itching at Spencer's skin. When Spencer pushed against him, seeking the comforting feeling those arms gave, Tony knew him and his quirks well enough to keep hold of him, to not let go.

He'd held on to Spencer right there in front of everyone like it was no big deal at all, and when Spencer tried to hold still in his embrace, Tony had started to rock them himself.

"You shouldn't encourage that kind of behavior." Howard had told Tony firmly, to which his brother had replied with a succinct "Bite me" before turning them so that neither one of them faced Howard. Then he'd held on to Spencer and rocked him until the young boy found his calm once more.

It wasn't the first time Tony had done it, nor would it be the last. As Spencer grew older and more self-conscious of his rocking, Tony took it on himself more and more to force it on him when he could see that Spencer needed it and wasn't giving it to himself.

Right now, more than anything, Spencer wanted to be able to feel Tony's hug. To have his brother hold him and help him rock until he could calm down again.

"K-Keep us locked down, J-J." Spencer stammered out. He didn't want to see anyone right now. Didn't want to even attempt to explain his actions. He didn't want to do anything. This was just – it was too much. Too many things on top of an already exhausted body.

When he heard JARIVS murmur a low suggestion of "You should sleep, sir." he didn't bother arguing it.

When he looked up he found that the bots were all right there, waiting anxiously. Spencer reached a hand out and braced on Butterfingers, murmuring a low "Th-Thanks" as he rose on shaky legs. The trio kept close around him and provided support as Spencer stumbled over towards the couch. It showed how much practice they had at helping people stumble around. Spencer took it all gratefully and, eventually, he sank down onto the couch. When Dum-E brought him a blanket, he smiled shakily at him. "Thanks, buddy."

There, surrounded by his family, Spencer ignored the world and let himself drift into the sleep of the exhausted.


	8. Chapter 8

Steve was pissed. It didn't take a genius to see it, or to understand why. Even so, Clint couldn't help but be a little bit annoyed by it. As he sat on the back of Natasha's chair and watched Steve continue to fuss over James – the same way he had been since Spencer's sort-of freak out yesterday evening – he had to fight not to roll his eyes. He knew Natasha felt the same. Even Bruce and Sam had retreated to the kitchen to make breakfast or coffee or something and avoid Steve's mother-hen routine. Thor just sat silently and watched on. He'd been a lot quieter lately, something that Clint made a mental note to keep an eye on. Either Tony's absence was affecting their usually loud friend quite a bit, or something else was going on.

Honestly, James looked like he was getting a bit annoyed, too. He was quiet, yet he kept trying to lean away, kept ignoring the things that Steve was saying.

Clint knew that Steve had a right to worry. At least a little. Having Spencer react the way that he had towards James had obviously upset the guy. Which was natural.

Thinking of the way that Spencer had looked had Clint wincing. The kid had lost all color to his face and his eyes had gotten huge. It'd made him look so damn… _young_. Then he'd been up and gone before anyone could say or do anything, and the way that he'd so deliberately avoided Natasha and James had made it clear just who it was that had caused the problem. There was no way Natasha was the one to get that kind of reaction out of Spencer. Most of the time she just seemed to piss him off or make him nervous. She never outright scared him. That meant it had to be James.

When Clint had gone down to try and talk to Spencer last night, after giving him time to cool off a bit first, JARVIS had calmly informed him that the lab was on lockdown. That lockdown hadn't even been lifted when Steve came down later on and tried to use the override codes that Tony gave him for emergencies.

"If you'll recall, Captain," JARVIS had said, calm as ever, "those codes were given to you to use in the event of an emergency. Seeing as there is no indication of an emergency, I'm under no obligation to honor them."

The gob-smacked look on Steve's face was something Clint was going to enjoy for a long time.

Clint was dragged back to the conversation going on around them when he heard Steve say, "This is your home now, Buck. You shouldn't have to put up with stuff like that."

"I'm not puttin' up with nothin'," James told Steve firmly. He turned on his seat so he could shoot a glare up at his hovering friend. "I told you already, Stevie, it's no big deal. From what I'm understanding, the kid knew the whole family. He's got a right to what he's feelin'. If all he did was leave the room when I came in, I'm gettin' off lucky."

Honestly, he really was. Clint alone knew just how badly the whole thing could've gone if Spencer had wanted to react violently. Spencer's file didn't just contain information about his powers—there were specific examples of what he could do with them. For the most part it looked like he didn't really use them for anything violent, but once or twice he'd showed just enough for SHIELD to know that they _could_ be used offensively if he put his mind to it.

"Buck…"

"No, Stevie. Let it go."

The room fell quiet after that. Clint rolled his eyes and settled a little more into his perch. It wasn't until Bruce and Sam came in, passing out mugs of coffee, that anyone spoke again. Surprisingly, it was Bruce, usually the quietest out of them all when he didn't have Tony to help draw him out, and who had spoken so little since Tony was taken. "I like him," were the simple words he gave as he passed a mug of tea down to Natasha, who took it with a faint smile, and then handed a mug of coffee back to Clint. He moved away from Natasha to take his own seat on the large chair that he and Tony usually shared. No one commented on the way he shifted around, unused to being in it alone.

"I haven't had much chance to acquaint myself with our new guest." Thor said, reaching out to take the mug that Sam was handing over.

A tray carrying three more mugs was set down by Steve and James. Taking his own from the tray, Sam stretched himself out on the end of the couch opposite the two super-soldiers. "I haven't really, either. He's spent most of his time down in Tony's workshop."

An obstinate look touched Steve's features. "He had it locked down last night. The codes Tony gave me didn't work, either. Somehow he managed to keep the lab locked down." He didn't sound happy about it, either. Just barely did Clint avoid wincing. He hadn't really wanted to pass that bit of information along. He knew it wasn't going to look good to everyone else that Spencer had shut himself down there, or that Steve's override codes hadn't worked. That was going to look beyond suspicious to them.

There was no real chance for anyone to discuss it, though. Even as Sam opened his mouth to speak, another voice beat him there. One that had Clint twitching just a little; the equivalent of a jump from anyone else. He hadn't noticed anyone coming.

"The codes didn't work because there was no emergency." Everyone looked over to watch as Spencer made his way into the room. He was dressed in slacks and a hoodie that Clint had seen Tony wear once or twice when he was really relaxed in his workshop. His hands were stuffed down into the pocket on the front and his shoulders were drawn up just a bit. Yet he kept his chin up and looked right over Steve's way as he spoke. "The codes that Tony gave you were for emergency purposes only. JARVIS has a strict outline of what constitutes an emergency, as well as a grey area for things he deems an emergency that might not appear on the list. When you came by, I was asleep, and JARVIS didn't feel the matter pressing enough to wake me up."

There was a protest already building on Steve's lips that he never got to voice. Spencer was already moving on; it was easy for Clint to see as the kid steeled himself for something he obviously didn't want to do. His expression twitched a little and then his gaze settled on James. What he said next wasn't at all what anyone expected.

"I want to apologize for my behavior yesterday," Spencer said bluntly. "You didn't deserve that kind of reaction, and I'm sorry."

His words stunned Steve into silence. The others all watched on, no one wanting to break that silence or interrupt the moment building here. Clint kept himself very, very still, coffee cup cradled in front of him, eyes darting back and forth between the two. Something inside of him tensed as he tried to read the play of emotions running over James' face. The archer didn't question why he was so on edge about whatever James would say; all he knew was that he was ready to step in if need be.

Eventually, James shook his head. "You got nothin' to apologize for, kid."

"Buck," Steve started to say, only to get cut off by a head shake from the other man.

"No, Stevie. We talked about this." With all the bearing of a soldier, James drew himself up and didn't flinch at all, though his face was bright with regret. "You knew Maria an Howard, an' I'm the one that killed 'em. You got a right to react to that any way you want."

Steve quickly rose with him and put a hand on James' arm, hurrying to speak before anyone else could. "No, Buck, no. It wasn't you." He turned his eyes to Spencer, who looked away after just a second. "It wasn't him, Dr. Reid. That was the programming Hydra did. What happened… it's terrible, and it's sad, but it wasn't his fault. You can't blame him for it."

Even though Spencer's hands were still in his pocket, it was easy for Clint to see the flinch in his arms that made it clear he was tightening his fingers together. It was a gesture Clint had seen plenty of times as he watched the genius. Spencer often twisted and rubbed his hands together or massaged at his fingers when he was thinking or stressed. Kind of like the way that Tony would click his fingers or tap them on the nearest surface when he got thinking.

"I know," Spencer finally settled on saying. "JARVIS explained everything to me last night, Captain. I'm smart enough to understand that your friend isn't the one that killed Maria and Howard. Not in the way that matters. I… I know it's not an excuse for my behavior, but I…" Here he paused and they all watched as he visibly swallowed down the lump in his throat. "Tony told me about what happened. I've seen the video. But until Mr. Barnes walked in yesterday, I was… I didn't know he was here."

That silenced them all. Even Clint was looking at him with surprise. "Tony didn't tell you?" For the amount of stuff that Spencer seemed to know already, this seemed like a surprising one to keep quiet about.

"No. According to JARVIS, he was waiting until my next visit. It's not exactly a conversation you have over the phone, is it?" Then, without letting them say anything to that, he made himself look at James again. "I understand and approve entirely of what Tony's doing here, and from what JARVIS has been able to share with me, you've become a pretty good friend to Tony. So, again, I'm sorry for the way I reacted yesterday, and I promise you it won't happen again."

"An I'll tell you again, you aint got nothing to be sorry for." James reassured him. At the same time, he looked so much more relaxed now. Grateful, even.

Spencer gave a small, short nod. Apparently, he'd said his piece, because he started to shift his weight backwards, and every inch of him was almost screaming out his need to run. Something told Clint that if they let him go now there was a chance that they wouldn't see him for quite a while. And Clint wasn't going to let that happen. He tried to tell himself it was because he was trying to take care of the asset he'd been put in charge of—he wasn't fooling himself, though. Or anyone else, if the way that Natasha was watching him was anything to go by.

Pushing all that down far, Clint leaned back a little in his seat and kept his eyes half open, watching Spencer carefully through his lashes as he called out, "Hey J, is there anything that the Doc's got running right now that he needs to be present for?"

Wide brown eyes shot over to Clint. Spencer looked at him like he'd been betrayed. JARVIS, on the other hand, sounded just a little bit smug as he said, "No, Agent Barton."

"Perfect." Smoothly, Clint rolled his body up until he could drop his feet down and rise up in one fluid move. He caught Natasha's elbow from it and a look that clearly told him to stop showing off. He ignored it and grinned, especially once he saw the way that Spencer's eyes drifted over him and the way his cheeks colored just the slightest bit before his gaze darted away. Oh yeah. Definitely worth it. With his smile firmly in place, Clint strolled right up to Spencer's side and used his head to gesture towards the kitchen. "C'mon. Sounds like you got time to sit down for the food you ran out on yesterday."

Spencer hesitated only briefly before hurrying after him. Likely when he realized that if he didn't he was going to be left in there with the others. There was no doubt in Clint's mind that JARVIS was firmly on his side right now and would prevent Spencer from escaping back downstairs. He caught up to Clint easily and let the man lead him over into the kitchen area. It wasn't separated completely from the others, but there was enough distance and the curve of the room that gave them a semblance of privacy.

When they reached the counter, Clint bumped his hip against Spencer's, nudging him towards the counter. "You sit. I'll make you up a Barton Special."

"A Barton Special?"

A grin flashed over Clint's face at the skeptical look Spencer wore. He headed over to the fridge and pulled open the door for the supplies he knew would be inside. "Yep!" After he gathered a few items, he called over his shoulder, "Do you like pickles?"

There was only a brief pause before Spencer answered him. "Generally speaking. I'm particular about what they go on, though."

Clint thought for a moment before shrugging and grabbing the jar anyways. He brought it and his supplies with him as he turned around and dropped them all down on the counter. When he looked up, he was surprised to find that Spencer wasn't standing where he'd left him, or sitting on a stool. No, he was actually perched up on the counter, hands braced on the edge and legs dangling. It was the last place Clint had expected to find him and he gave the kid a raised-eyebrow look. Spencer gave him one in return.

"Sandwiches?" Spencer asked, looking like he was fighting amusement. "The Barton Special is a sandwich?"

"Hey, I never claimed I could cook." Honestly, cooking was the last thing that Clint should do. He'd been banned from trying to cook too much. Reaching out, he snagged the good bread from up in the cupboard, the one that Tony tried to hide from them behind that ridiculous smoothie powder stuff he kept up there. "Sandwiches are about the best I can do, though I've been told I order a mean pizza."

Out of the corner of his eye he could see as Spencer shook his head. He was trying not to smile, though, so Clint counted it as a win. Grinning, he turned himself towards Spencer just enough to ask him, "Anything out here you protest to?"

Spencer looked over the array of food before gesturing to the mayo. "I don't use mayonnaise. I like butter on my sandwiches. The rest of it is fine."

That—that was exactly how Tony took his, too. Clint filed that little fact away but said nothing about it. He just went about preparing two large sandwiches. He was going to make the most of the meal. There was no telling when he'd be able to get Spencer to eat again. While he had him here, he'd stuff him.

That plan must've been obvious because Spencer huffed out a soft breath and shook his head. "You have a strange fixation on my food intake."

"Someone has to." When he turned around, he saw Spencer just sitting there, watching him with a sort of sad look no his face. "What?"

"Nothing."

"That doesn't look like a 'nothing' face."

"It's just…" Spencer licked his lips and looked down and away. "Tony… he always… he does this. The man can go days without remembering to eat or shower, but he makes sure I never skip more than a meal." Pausing, Spencer let out a low laugh, one full of wonder and enough heartache it made Clint want to reach out to him. "He even built up a meal plan with JARVIS to make sure I was getting the proper amount, no matter the circumstances."

The lump in Clint's stomach that never seemed to quite go away anymore, the one that was firmly labeled as worry for their missing genius, grew just a little bit heavier at those words. Clint didn't even think anything of it as he laid down the butter knife and reached out to Spencer to lay a hand on his knee. The young genius flinched yet didn't pull away; a big thing for him. His eyes peeked up through his bangs to look cautiously at Clint. For his part, Clint put on his most serious expression, needing Spencer to understand just how serious he took this. "We'll bring him home, Spencer. The team and I, we're still looking. We're not just sitting around on our asses while you're here. We're doing whatever we can to find him."

"I know." Spencer pressed his lips together in an obvious bid to get control. Then, he nodded his head. When he spoke again, his voice was heavier, with thin cracks running through it that showed just how fragile his control was. "I know. JARVIS keeps me updated on the things you guys do while I'm in Tony's workshop. I know you're trying to find him just as hard as I am. I just... I just want him to, to come _home_."

The raw emotion in those words ripped at Clint's insides. He was moving before he even thought about it; his body turned and his free hand came up, cupping the side of Spencer's head, his other hand came up to push back some hair and then mirror that hold until Spencer's head was cradled between his palms. There was a voice in the back of Clint's mind that reminded him that he was supposed to be this guy's handler; that he was supposed to be _professional_. Clint told that voice to _fuck off_ and focused on the face he was still holding.

"Hey." Leaning in, Clint pressed their foreheads together, keeping eye contact the entire time. It let him see the way that Spencer's eyes widened at the contact at first, or how they drifted partially closed a second later. Clint kept them close as he murmured, "We'll get him home. All right?"

"You don't know that." Spencer whispered. His hands came up almost hesitantly, lightly ghosting over Clint's wrists before settling there. Those long fingers curled in a grip that tightened once he realized it was okay.

Clint gave a lopsided grin he knew Spencer wouldn't really be able to see. "Sure I do. You'll see—he'll be home soon, nagging you about how skinny you've gotten and trying to force you to eat, probably pretending the whole time like it's some great big chore."

The words and the accompanying eye roll had Spencer letting out a slightly watery laugh. He closed his eyes and leaned in just a little more until their foreheads were pressing harder together and Clint's hands were a bit more firmly on his face. It didn't feel like he was trying to push him off, though. Just… push against him, so Clint kept his hold. After a second of just resting there, Clint could feel it as Spencer relaxed. "Thank you."

"Anytime," Clint said. He meant it, too, more than he'd realized before he said it.

The two stayed like they were for a moment longer before they finally had to pull apart. Clint was silent as he went back to the task of making sandwiches. But it wasn't an awkward silence. There was something there now; something more comfortable that settled between them. It wrapped around Clint like a warm, comforting coat, and he let himself relax underneath it, content to make their food in peace.


	9. Chapter 9

Two sandwiches and a big bag of chips later, Spencer was feeling a whole lot better than he had been. Whether that could be attributed to the food or the company, he wasn't sure, and he wasn't in the mood to question it. For the time being, he was content to just accept it.

Naturally, that had to be when everything inside of his head went crazy.

He didn't need JARVIS to call out, "Sir!" for him to know that their scans had come up with something. Spencer jolted up from his seat, eyes wide as the link he carried to his scans downstairs hummed to life. In a flash, Spencer moved to the wall display that JARVIS called up. The holograms flared to life before Spencer even reached them. On them was a camera display; not a good one, either. Spencer could make out bodies moving around in a grainy sort of quality that made it clear the camera needed an upgrade, desperately. There was no one on screen that Spencer recognized, though, which meant... "Let's backtrack, J, find the source of the ping we got and isolate it."

Clint didn't make a sound as he joined Spencer. One moment he was in the kitchen and the next he was at Spencer's side.

All of Spencer's focus was on the screen in front of him. "Come on, come on," he murmured. The video in front of him flashed backwards and Spencer reached out with his powers, merging with JARVIS as they drew the video back frame by frame until – "There!" A face popped up on screen, frozen. It was the face they'd drawn off their video of the car that had taken Tony. The small glimpse that JARVIS had cleaned up and been searching for ever since. Spencer gave a sharp grin as he stared at the man. "Got you."

"That's the face from the video," Clint said beside him, his voice lower and deeper than before. Dangerous.

Spencer gave a quick nod. "J and I have built a program to scan everywhere, hoping he'd show his face."

"When was this?"

"Seven minutes and thirty-two seconds ago." Now they just needed to try and follow it. Now that he'd showed his face, they just needed to follow him, see where he went. "Pull up every available camera in the area, J. Let's see if we can track him."

"Already on it, sir."

Images raced back and forth through Spencer's vision. He and JARVIS shifted through the cameras they had, everything that they could pull up all around the one that had found him. It didn't take long for Spencer to get a better view of the man. One that allowed him to see not just his face, but his body, his outfit. All things that he could use to better track him.

 _There, got you now, you bastard_. Without a thought to the people who were nearby, Spencer didn't bother holding back, pulling up image after image around him as he and JARVIS chased their suspect through camera after camera. They followed him down the street until he reached a car. Then, once he was inside the car, they tracked that for as long as they could until the last camera showed it leaving town.

As Spencer drew out of the images a little, he became aware of the people behind him for the first time as he heard Steve ask, "Where is this?"

"Canada," Spencer replied. "They're up in Canada. We've traced his car to the edge of town, but that's as far as the local cameras go. JARVIS, pull up the Watchtower Program."

There was absolutely no hesitance on JARVIS's part. In an instant there was a new set of images on the screen in front of Spencer. Aerial satellite images. JARVIS didn't even have to be told; he was already setting it up to track the car that they'd been following. When it found a location, Spencer would know. For the moment he let go of things just enough to let JARVIS work. Unfortunately, that meant that he was free to turn around and face the group of Avengers that were behind him.

Every single one of them was there. They'd all come in from the living room and were standing there watching him with intense looks on their faces. There was hope there that Spencer could read for some, suspicion on others. Spencer stood his ground and refused to be cowed before it. The fact that Clint was still standing beside him helped. The archer was close; close enough to shield Spencer, the young genius realized. The way Clint was standing suggested that he'd been _guarding_ Spencer as he stood there. Keeping the others back? Or keeping them from seeing him and what he'd been doing?

Spencer knew they were going to have questions for him, so he hurried to explain before they could start asking. "JARVIS cleaned up that image that we found the first day I was here. Then, we built an program to help us scan the cameras throughout the country to try and track him. We included Canada because there are two different groups that have made threats against Tony who hail from that area."

"Is that legal?" Steve asked him.

"SHIELD gave us limited access to their camera system." That wasn't an answer and they all knew it. Spencer didn't linger on it, though. "Our program came up with a hit that had an eighty-seven percent match. When JARVIS pulled it up, we were able to isolate the image and better view it and it matches our man perfectly. From there, we used the local cameras to follow him to his car, and then to follow his car out of town. Now, we're using the SHIELD satellites and aerial imaging to try and follow the car to its location." No need for them to know that he didn't have permission for using _that_. Fury wasn't going to be happy with him once he found out, which Spencer was guessing would be any time now. There'd be some sort of notification set up to alert the man that someone had commandeered their eyes in the sky.

"Sir." JARVIS said, drawing everyone's attention back towards the wall almost instantly. There, on the video, was an image of a section of forest. "I believe I've found where they're holding Sir."

"It's just a forest." Sam said, sounding confused.

Spencer shook his head, stepping a bit closer to look. "No, it's not. This area, it's decidedly blank. Show me the readings, JARVIS." A second screen popped up alongside the first and Spencer's eyes ran down the numbers there. What he saw had him sucking in a breath. "That's a lot of energy being fed into the area with nothing to show for it. You're thinking shielding of some sort?"

"That would be my guess," JARVIS agreed.

Something inside of Spencer leapt. It felt like his heart was trying to climb up his throat. This was the single most promising lead that they'd had. The only real lead. The chances of Tony actually being here were high. _We've found you, Tone_ , the words whispered through him, aching and full of emotion. His hands clenched in his pockets. _I'm coming for you. Just hold on a little longer – I'm coming for you._

It barely registered in Spencer's mind as the others began to build a plan. Steve was barking out orders, Natasha was talking to JARVIS to try and gather as much information as possible, and they were all preparing to go. Spencer ignored it and took a step off to the side, out of their view, and then another, and then he turned and walked away from them all and straight towards the elevator. There was no hesitation in him for what he was about to do. He knew what he needed to do. He knew what was necessary here.

When he reached Tony's workshop, he didn't hesitate as he walked to the middle of the room. "JARVIS, where is that ridiculous suit that Tony made for me?"

Lights came on over on the far left of the room. Spencer turned to look as a spot in the wall pushed forward, revealing a hidden compartment. When the panel moved away, something came pushing forward from the hidden space.

It was a tall piece of metal upon which rested a black and dark blue suit that Tony had worked on for Spencer, the one he claimed was for emergencies. "It's _awesome_ , kiddo, you won't believe it. I've finally managed to find the best material to work with the type of electrical energy you generate. It won't carry the electricity anywhere and it won't burn away if you get too much. It's comfortable without pinching you in all the wrong places like half those stupid SHIELD outfits do, and it's lightweight enough to fit under regular clothes. _Plus_ , the armor in there is so lightweight you'll barely even notice you're wearing any."

"You're utterly ridiculous," Spencer had told him, not quite able to keep from laughing at the time. "I'm a federal agent, Tone. I don't need a superhero suit."

Tony had just shrugged in that casual way of his that said it was no big deal, even when it was a big deal. "Meh. I was making my suit and I needed a distraction. Better to need something and have it than not, right?"

As he stared at the suit now, Spencer felt a pang in his heart. _I owe you a big one, Tone._

It was time to stop keeping at least some of his secrets. Tony needed him, and there was nothing that was more important to Spencer. Nothing in his world that mattered more.

* * *

The suit fit like a second skin. Spencer had to admit, it was movable and breathable, two important things. Though he really could've done without the whole 'revealing' aspect. It didn't exactly leave much to the imagination. Spencer tried to ignore that the best that he could as he headed back upstairs. Revealing aspect aside, it wasn't bad.

It was a full bodysuit, with no gloves so his hands would be free, but a triangle of material over the back of each hand that hooked around his middle finger to keep things in place. It also had feet on it, which Tony had insisted were there so that if Spencer's powers somehow burned his shoes away, his feet would still be protected. It had a mask, a black mask with dark blue lines that resembled electricity on it, matching the ones that decorated the rest of his suit. Spencer carried the mask in his hands as he made his way back upstairs.

JARVIS had warned him that Fury had called while he was downstairs. Because of that, Spencer didn't startle at the video call happening in the living room when he walked in to join the rest of the Avengers.

Fury was the one to notice him first. He took one look at Spencer and immediately demanded, "What do you think you're doing, Dr. Reid?"

Everyone spun to look at Spencer. Mostly they were surprised, though it didn't escape Spencer's notice how Natasha's eyes narrowed, something contemplative passing her face. It wouldn't surprise him if she suspected the truth about him; about his powers, at least. She had to know this suit wasn't just for show.

He tried not to shift underneath those stares as everyone took in what he was wearing. Instead, he lifted his chin a bit and straightened his spine, hearing Tony's voice in the back of his mind reminding him ' _Don't let them see weakness, kid_.' His voice was steady when he answered, "I'm going to bring Tony home."

"You're not going with them," Fury said immediately.

He was backed by most of the Avengers, who were all nodding their agreement. Even Clint looked like he wanted to say something, but Steve beat him to it. "This isn't a job for civilians," Steve said as gently as possible. "You found him for us, Dr. Reid, and we're grateful. Now let us bring him home."

Spencer held his ground and didn't back down. Nor did he bother to address Steve. He looked right at Nick, the one here who would have any chance of trying to find a way to stop him. Well, him and Clint. "I'm going, Director. The people that have Tony are going to be prepared for the Avengers to show up. They aren't going to be prepared for me."

The look that Nick gave him was both sharp and calculating. He agreed with Spencer's statement, that much was true. It didn't change his position, though. "I've seen the area you're heading towards—we've had some suspicions about people up here, and if we're right, this is a dangerous group, Dr. Reid. You're too valuable an asset. We can't risk sending you out there and something happening to you." Which was code for 'you know too many of our secrets and we don't have any way to defend against you if someone convinced you to do bad things for them'.

"I'm not asking your permission," Spencer said firmly.

"You do this and you know what the consequences will be. Our deal won't stand anymore."

Spencer had to fight back the nausea that built in his throat. Yeah, he knew what would happen. It was the threat that had been looming over his head most of his life. Swallowing, the young genius nodded. "I know."

There was something that might've been respect on the Director's face. He gave a small nod. It was the closest he was going to give to permission for this.

Turning to look at Steve finally, Spencer tried to keep his expression calm as he asked, "Are we ready to go?"

* * *

Having Fury's permission seemed to make the others a bit reluctant to argue with him. He should've known it wouldn't last, though. They might not have had the time to waste there to argue what was going on but during the flight, they had plenty of time there. It only took a few minutes after they were in the air before everyone—minus Clint, who was flying them—moved to focus right on Spencer. He was sitting on the bench seat as close to Clint as he could manage. Pathetic though it made him feel, the presence of the other man had become something of a comfort recently. One that Spencer desperately needed.

His mind was racing in that way it always did when he and his team were ready to go take down an Unsub. Only, with a whole lot more fear. Because this wasn't just some Unsub they were going after here. This wasn't someone who could easily be taken down with a gun. This was some dangerous group that he had no idea about. And they had his brother. They had Tony and there was no telling what they'd done to him or what they wanted him to do.

He was trying to relax himself as best as possible when Steve came walking towards him. The others were nearby, all perched on the various seats—Natasha, Bruce, Sam, James, and Thor. Each one checked their weapons, preparing themselves. Yet they all watched carefully as Steve walked over to stand directly in front of Spencer. When the young genius looked up, trying to fight the urge to lean away, he found Steve staring intently down at him.

The man didn't bother wasting time with pointless questions. He got right to the point as he asked, "What was that about?"

Even though he'd known this was coming, it didn't mean that Spencer was eager to deal with it. These people were going to know the truth soon enough, or at least some of it. That didn't mean he wanted to tell them. "Does it matter?"

"I think it does," Steve said. He studied Spencer's face as he asked, "What deal did you have with Fury?"

He wasn't going to let this go. The way he stood there, arms crossed over his chest and that so-serious look on his face, made that clear. The man didn't like or trust Spencer. If he didn't give Steve something, there was every chance he'd try to keep Spencer here on the jet with Bruce, who was coming along as a last resort. Their backup, just in case things went horribly wrong.

Staring ahead at the wall of the jet, Spencer answered the Captain in that same flat voice as before, hating every word that passed his lips. "My previous SHIELD handler got me a deal that said I was free to live my life as I wished, so long as I kept myself out of SHIELD databases and out of situations that might cause me to fall into enemy hands. By hacking into their satellites and willingly going in after the people who have Tony, I'm breaking that deal, and SHIELD will collect when they're done. Likely there are SHIELD agents on their way as we speak to capture and detain me. So when we land, we're going to need to move fast. I won't stop until I have Tony back."

That obviously wasn't what any of them were expecting. It was Sam who voiced what they all had to be thinking. "You did this, knowing that's what would happen? _Why_?" Sam looked incredulous. "Why would you do that? We would've brought him home for you."

Spencer shook his head. There was no way he could've stayed behind. He said nothing, though. They wouldn't understand. None of them would. This was what he had to do.

"A fine thing," Thor declared loudly, breaking some of the tension that had fallen over them. When Spencer looked at him, there was both respect and understanding in his eyes, as well as a sort of grief that made Spencer wonder just how much Thor had been through, who he had lost that was close to him. "Tis honorable, to go and fetch a shield-brother and bring him home despite risk to yourself. The sign of a true warrior, young doctor."

Without giving them a chance to ask another question, Spencer pushed up from his seat and twisted to the left, ignoring how Steve shifted his weight as if trying to get into a defensive position. Spencer ignored it all as he slid around the pilot's chair and moved to drop himself down into the co-pilot's seat.

Clint slanted a look his way as Spencer sat down. He didn't say anything, though. He didn't have to. The look he gave spoke volumes. Spencer pressed his lips together and nodded his head, hoping Clint understood just how grateful he was. He didn't need to hear any more questions or any platitudes or anything like that. What Spencer needed more than anything in the world was just to get his brother home.


	10. Chapter 10

It seemed to take forever and yet no time at all before they reached their destination. Spencer was a bundle of nerves by the time they arrived. His stomach was twisting and his heart was pounding in his chest. More than anything he wanted to clutch tightly to himself and take a few moments in private to just _breathe_ until it stopped feeling like something was sitting on his chest or like his skin was going to crawl off of his body. There just wasn't the time. He had to calm down – had to focus.

When they landed, he kept himself close to Clint's side while they all gathered in the back of the jet. A plan had been discussed at some point. Spencer was vaguely aware of it. Just as he was aware that it hadn't included him. He didn't care, though. Steve didn't have to plan for him. If the man thought that he was going to stay here with Bruce as 'backup' he'd find that he had another thing coming.

But now, as Steve reiterated his plan for them one last time, it was time for Spencer to speak up.

"We need to move quickly, in case they sensed something. Tony's shielding is good, but we don't know what kind of technology they have in there." Steve pointed out. "The shields they've got up suggest they're pretty advanced. There's a chance they could do more than just block Tony's trackers. It's likely going to act as some sort of force field over the area. So, we're going to need to find a way to break through it…"

"Leave the shield to me." Spencer cut him off. This was where he knew he could be helpful. This was something he knew he could do. Ever since they'd gotten close he'd been able to feel the energy in the shield around this place. There was no doubt in his mind that he could manipulate it.

Multiple sets of eyes went his direction. The only person who understood what he meant was Clint. He was giving Spencer a look that clearly asked 'Are you sure?' There was no need for Spencer to think about the answer. He was sure. He was more sure than he'd been about anything in a long time.

Holding up his hands, Spencer let the energy build around them, let the crackles of electricity dance over his palms and around his hands, traveling down over his arms and back up to spark at his fingertips. Steve and Sam both drew back in surprise, while James and Natasha eyed him in that assessing way of theirs, as if he was a puzzle that had just added another piece. Thor gave a wild grin, like someone who knew the tide had just been turned in their favor. Their reactions were varied, and Spencer didn't care.

He knew his eyes were glowing as he looked up at them. "Leave the shield to me. I'll get it down. After that, you'll need to move fast, because there's no way to hide that we're coming."

Spencer was surprised when James spoke up, cutting off whatever sharp words Steve had been about to say. "Hawkeye and I got the kid—the rest of you be ready." He slanted a look at Steve and gave a shake of his head at whatever he saw there. "We aint got time, punk. Save it for once we got Tony back."

A strange sort of calm filled Spencer as they left the jet. With each step he took, his fears were pushed down, his anxiety shoved to the back of his mind, and the calm he'd learned on the job filled him. Only, this was more than ever. This wasn't just a sense of calm—it was a sense of rightness, and a readiness to do what needed to be done.

The others vanished into the trees around him. They all knew where they were going; they all had their place to be. Spencer knew what his place was. He walked confidently out into the open, heading straight for the shield. Through the comm in his ear, Spencer heard Sam ask, " _Dude, what are you doing? Aren't we being stealthy_?"

"Yes, you are." Spencer held his hands out to his sides, letting the power grow, letting it build and build on his skin until he was _glowing_ with it. It took only a little effort to keep it from frying the comm he wore. " _I'm_ not. They don't know who I am. Let them see me coming."

" _They'll be distracted by him. Enough that they will likely not see us coming,_ " Natasha explained to the rest of them. She'd caught on quickly to Spencer's plan.

Spencer smiled. Then he reached out ahead of him to the energy of the shield. His hands lifted and were held in front of him right as he reached the edge of the shield. He felt the power of it pulsing, shifting, alive in a way that so few people realized energy could be. Pressing his palms flat against it, Spencer drew in a breath and _pulled._

It was an explosion of power and agony. His electrical powers shoved out against the power of the shield he was touching and the two fought against one another as Spencer used his own to connect to this energy, drawing the two together until they were matched up, twined together like threads to a rope.

Once he had it matched, the pain faded away and the power filled him. He pulled it in and merged it with his own, feeling it filling his veins, chasing away everything but pure _energy_. The glow around his eyes intensified and the others nearby watched with a mixture of fear and awe as Spencer's entire being was wrapped up in arcs of energy.

Then, in a flash of light, the shield was gone, revealing the base inside.

Spencer drew his hands back. Eyes bright with power, he looked up at the building in front of him, what looked to be some sort of old army base—and why the hell was it always places like this?—just in time to see men with guns come rushing out the door.

The power inside of Spencer pulsed, aching to be free, and he let it. He threw his hands forward and sent a shockwave of power flying at the men in front of him. It hit them, sending them and their guns flying back to crash into the walls. Spencer paid them no attention as he started forward, letting the power continue to dance along his skin.

He hated fighting—hated using his powers for evil things, hated hurting people with it, hated being the weapon SHIELD was convinced he was—but they were here, _Tony_ might be here, and there was no way that Spencer was going to hold back. He was going to get his brother home. There was no place for _Spencer_ out here in the field. All that made him who he was had to be pushed down so that the part of himself he liked to deny could spring free.

People raced up on his left and Spencer quickly flung out a hand. A ball of energy flew through the air, knocking them all down. It took precision and control to keep the power to a minimum. He didn't want to _kill_ them. He just wanted them out of his way. Another blast went flying, taking out another group. But more of them seemed to be coming.

Through the comms he heard a few muttered curses. Lightning struck the ground nearby, echoed by Thor's thunderous cry from up above, and there was a shadow as Sam flew through the sky. So much for the others playing stealth. Spencer wasn't a distraction anymore. This group would know that the Avengers were here. Well, that was fine. If they weren't going to be stealthy, so be it. Spencer altered his plans and, instead of attacking more of the men coming, he sent out a blast that sent some of them flying and opened up the wall in front of him. Then he flung a ball of power directly at that wall.

The crash echoed loudly around them. Spencer didn't pause, he took off running.

All of a sudden there was someone right next to him, and a big metal arm right beside Spencer's head. Just barely did he keep from reacting to it. When he looked over, he saw James there, an arm up to block what was seemingly a bullet. "Move!" the man growled, and Spencer heard a hint of the Winter Soldier that he knew existed inside. He tried not to shiver.

James stayed with him as they took off inside the building. The fight outside grew muted, yet they found their own fight waiting inside. More men with guns were in the hallway as the two darted inside. "Just how many men do they have?" Spencer grumbled.

He heard James huff out what might've been a laugh. "You get used to it."

"No thank you." He didn't have time for this many people. As the guns lifted, Spencer pushed the power down his arms again, into his hands, and as he flung the balls of energy straight down the hall, right into the group.

From behind him came a low whistle. "Strike!" Clint called cheerfully. He was climbing over the bit of rubble to drop down behind them. "Nice shot, Doc."

"Less talking, more moving," James told them firmly. He turned to look at Spencer, and there was a surprising amount of trust in that look. "Where do we go now?"

He was asking him? _Him_? Spencer only allowed himself a second to marvel over it. Drawing in a breath, he forced it all away, and focused again. This was going to take just a bit of trust.

"Cover me." Closing his eyes, he trusted his safety to the two men with him and he reached out to the power of the building, feeling it flowing around, the energy of their security system, the power running to the computers and cameras. After so long of being close to JARVIS, filtering through this was like child's play. It took him only moments to find what he wanted. As soon as he did, his eyes shot open in shock and joy. "I've found him!"

There was no time for Spencer to pay any attention to anyone's reaction to that. Without wasting another moment, he spun and ran in the opposite direction—towards Tony. Inside, his heart was singing. Tony was alive! He was _alive_!

* * *

Later, Spencer wouldn't clearly remember how he made it through the building down to the cells. He knew that he fought as he went. He also knew that Clint and James fought with him, keeping him safe as they all made their way towards the one they were here for. But the fight itself? It was a blur. Spencer only remembered it in flashes. Things didn't get clear again until they were blasting through a door and he was inside of a small, cold, old prisoner cell.

His memory was clear on that first glimpse of Tony—his big brother, so skinny, obviously bruised and hurt in more than a few places, but alive, _alive_!—and the stunned way he stared at them as he sat up on the tiny little excuse for a bed he had in there. The first word that Spencer heard Tony speak after so long apart was the stupid nickname that Spencer pretended to hate even if he secretly loved it.

" _Pikachu_?"

A wet laugh, bordering on a sob, slipped past Spencer's lips. "Yeah, Tone. It's me."

Tony looked at him with stunned disbelief. Then his whole face just _lit up_ and Spencer found himself grinning despite everything. With James standing guard in the hall and Clint the only one in the doorway to witness this, Spencer reached out and caught hold of Tony, carefully pulling him up to his feet, and then he drew him right in for a gentle hug that made Spencer's whole body ache with the need for more, yet was gentle enough not to exacerbate the obvious injuries and whatever ones he couldn't see that littered Tony's body.

There was no hesitation on Tony's part to fold himself around Spencer. His arms closed around him and he didn't seem to give a damn for his own injuries. He pulled Spencer in hard and tight and pressed his face in against Spencer's hair, very obviously breathing him in. "You're here." There was so much wonder in those words. So much heartache. "You're fucking here."

This was everything that Spencer had been wanting lately. He didn't care about how filthy Tony was, though the weight he'd lost was far too noticeable for Spencer's comfort. However, all of that could be figured out. Everything could be fixed. For now, Spencer was happy to turn his face in and tuck it into that spot against Tony's neck where he'd been hiding ever since he was a child seeking comfort from nightmares with his big brother.

"We're all here," Spencer told him, the words muffled against his skin. "Bruce is at the jet. He didn't want to risk bringing the place down on you."

He felt Tony huff out a laugh against his hair. "Good plan."

Neither one of them wanted to move, yet they both knew they had to. Spencer was the one to force himself to draw back first. Tony didn't let him go completely. He kept an arm around Spencer's shoulders; it was just as much for comfort as it was for support. Moving finally allowed him to see the shadow in the door, though.

Clint beamed at Tony, his expression softening into something warm and easy. "You know, if you wanted some space, all you had to do was ask. You didn't have to run away to _Canada_."

Tony lit up at the easy teasing in Clint's words. He leaned a little more against Spencer, but he was beaming at Clint. "What can I say? You guys just weren't getting the hint." He lifted his free hand, which was surprisingly clear compared to the rest of him, though it made Spencer sick to realize that he probably knew why. There was no point in kidnapping a genius inventor if they were too injured to build something.

Clint tilted his head suddenly and then smiled up at them. "SHIELD arrived. Everything's clear and under lockdown. We're good to go."

"SHIELD…" Tony licked his lips, his eyes darting around the room, and Spencer understood. He knew exactly what Tony was worrying about. Leaning in, he murmured to his brother, "Don't worry, I've wiped the computers here." No one was going to see what had been done to Tony while he was here. They'd get no information about him.

The relief Tony felt was enough to have him slumping down. As Spencer braced him up, knowing that they needed to move him, he realized something. He hadn't heard anyone reporting that SHIELD had arrived. With his free hand, he fished out the comm from his ear and looked down at it. The thing was dead. Huh. Whoops?

It took both Spencer and Clint's combined efforts to get Tony up out of the dungeon. Clint kept up a steady stream of banter that Tony seemed to draw energy from. Spencer, well, he was just drawing as much comfort as he could from the touch of his brother. Every little bit of it, he drew it in, logging it all away, and relishing in the fact that Tony was here and _he was alive_. God, he was alive!

When they got outside, Tony squinted a little, and he almost stumbled, but Spencer and Clint were there to catch him. In the next second it didn't matter. The rest of the Avengers were coming towards them and Spencer had to fight to make himself duck down from Tony's arm so that he was free to be pulled in by the others. Everyone took their turns hugging him. Natasha took Spencer's place under his arm, murmuring words in Russian that Spencer didn't understand.

For one too-brief moment, Spencer just stood there and stared, letting himself drink in the sight of Tony alive and well. He was dirty, his clothes were torn, bloodstained, and too big, and he had quite the beard and his hair was in need of a trim—it was honestly the most amazing sight that Spencer had ever seen. There wasn't a single person aside from his mother that mattered as much in Spencer's world as Tony did.

He'd been Spencer's, well, his _everything_. Brother, friend, sometimes father-figure. He took care of Spencer in ways that no one else ever had even tried to. More than that, he'd gone above and beyond, time and time again. It had been high time that Spencer returned that favor.

When he broke his gaze away from the group shuffling Tony away, Spencer was finally able to see the SHIELD agents waiting nearby. They were on alert, watching him, and Spencer had no doubt what they were here for. He swallowed down the lump in his throat. _It was worth it._ Over and over he reminded himself of that. _It was worth it._

"Spencer?"

Spencer startled a little at the sound of Clint's soft voice. In the distance, Thor's booming laugh echoed around them, so at odds with the solemn air that was inside of Spencer. He turned himself to look at Clint and saw understanding with a shuttered expression that didn't completely hide the sadness in his eyes. Spencer's smile was equally sad. He'd started to really enjoy Clint's company. It would've been nice to get to know him without the danger hanging over their heads. "Get him to medical, would you? He needs looked at."

"Come do it yourself," Clint said, taking a small step closer. His hand twitched like he wanted to reach out, only he kept himself back, kept his hands away. His eyes, however, stayed right on Spencer, and his voice was pitched low for only Spencer to hear. "We could keep you safe. You don't have to do this."

Even as Clint said it, Spencer was shaking his head. He couldn't do that. He couldn't turn their world upside-down like that. It wasn't like Nick would back off. Spencer wasn't going to make them go to war with SHIELD over him.

He let out a shaky breath and lifted his hand, letting his fingers run down Clint's cheek in a touch he wouldn't have dared to take any other time. "You're one of the only people that I think sees past the fronts he puts up. Just… take care of him for me. Please?"

"You don't even have to ask, Doc."

The corners of Spencer's mouth curved up. "I know. That's why I'm asking you."

He gave himself one moment more to let his hand stay on the warmth of Clint's face. Then he drew it back and made himself turn around, turn away from everyone and everything. Tony was further away now, almost completely out of sight, so Spencer was out of time. He was lucky that Tony hadn't started trying to come back for him. The worry that he was too hurt to truly focus, it plagued Spencer, but he made himself let it go. The others would take care of him. If there was one thing that Spencer had learned in his time at the tower, it was that Tony had a family around him now. People who would take care of him. He'd be okay.

With his chin held high, Spencer made his way over towards the SHIELD agents, never once looking back.

Either they trusted him far more than he expected or they understood that he was trying not to make a scene here, because they didn't grab him, didn't cuff him, didn't do any of the things he expected. They just led him quietly over to their jet and up inside.

It wasn't until Spencer was out of view of everyone that the woman in front of him turned around and actually gave him an apologetic look. Then she held up something in her hands that made Spencer shiver. "We need you to put this on, Dr. Reid."

Spencer stared at the collar in her hands and wanted to throw up right then and there. He knew what it felt like to wear one of those and he hadn't ever wanted to do it again. Memories of a different time and place burned in his mind like fire. With hands that shook, he reached out and took it from her. Thankfully, no one said a word about his obvious fear. They just stood quietly as he lifted it up and pressed it around his neck.

When the lock clicked into place, everything changed. The world dimmed, getting less vibrant, quieter. The place inside Spencer where his powers sat was now… empty. Gone. It was a feeling that was shrouded in terror for him, linked to memories of times he never wanted to think about, and a feeling of helplessness that was almost more than he could stand.

Someone came up towards him with cuffs and Spencer couldn't quite stop his flinch. He was surprised when the agent who had handed him the collar now held out her hand to the other and shook her head. "We don't need those."

"Vince…"

The woman, Vince, shook her head. "No. Just get to your positions. I'll sit with him."

The jet was quiet as everyone gathered in their places. Spencer was led to a seat and Vince took up the one beside him. Neither one of them said anything as the jet was readied and then finally brought up into the air. It wasn't until they'd been flying for a bit that she finally spoke to him, though she didn't turn to look his way. "That was a brave thing you did."

Spencer said nothing. What was there to say? Tony was the most important person in his world. If it meant keeping him safe, Spencer would do this a thousand times over. Still…

He closed his eyes and tried to keep the panic at bay. The emptiness inside him felt so _immense_ it threatened to steal his breath away. The only thing he could console himself with was the thought that it was worth it. _It was worth it. For Tony, it was worth it_.


	11. Chapter 11

Getting Tony to medical proved to be a more immediate need than any of them had realized. They got halfway back to the jet before he passed out. The only thing that kept him from sinking to the ground were the hands that were already holding him. As soon as he started to drop, Natasha and Steve were hauling him up, and their footsteps became a lot quicker. They raced him to the jet, where Bruce was waiting for him, a gurney and medical supplies already waiting.

Everyone was too focused on their friend, and their horror at the damage done to him, to pay any real attention when Clint started up the jet. None of them seemed to notice Spencer's absence. Well, none of them except James. He looked up from Tony long enough to catch Clint's eyes. When Clint gave a small shake of his head, James grimaced, obviously understanding. Clint was grateful for the lack of questions. He wasn't ready to deal with trying to explain anything. Right now, he had a friend he could help, and a promise to keep.

With SHIELD so close, it was a short flight to the Helicarrier and the medical team waiting for them there. Tony would hate it, Clint knew, but they had no idea what his injuries were and they didn't want to risk taking too long to get him home.

Thank God, he didn't need surgery, something that Clint and the others were so grateful for. Later, they discovered that it was exhaustion, dehydration, and malnutrition that had combined together to knock the genius out. His body had been pushed too hard for too long.

Once he was free and in what he knew was safe company, his body stopped fighting to stay alert and just, gave in. They got him up to the Helicarrier, got him set up in bed and hooked up to every machine that Bruce pulled out, pumping him full of all the things he'd need to get come back to them. Bruce got him cleaned up, a task he didn't trust to any of the SHIELD orderlies, making sure that any open wounds on Tony's body were patched up—he only needed twenty stitches total—and casting the single break in his leg that had already started to heal thanks to what looked like a crude splint that they found under Tony's pants.

Clint stayed with Tony the whole time he was there. The team had expected it of Bruce—they didn't seem to expect it of Clint. But for three days, Clint was either in Tony's room with him or standing guard out in the hallway.

He'd made a promise to someone important that he was going to take care of Tony. It was a promise he intended on keeping. He wasn't going to leave Tony alone; especially not here, with SHIELD.

The distrust he felt for the people he'd worked for all these years, it left him slightly sick.

During his watch, while Bruce was first fixing Tony up, Steve cornered Clint out in the waiting area down the hall for the conversation that the archer had known was coming. Clint was leaning against the wall, with a clear view of Tony's door, when Steve stepped away from the others to come stand right in front of Clint. His arms were crossed over his chest and he was wearing that look that Tony always liked to joke made him feel as if he'd kicked a bald eagle. "You knew he had powers."

There was enough disapproval in there to make a normal man flinch. Clint raised an eyebrow and gave Steve his calmest, most blank expression. "I did."

"And you didn't think that was something we needed to know?"

"No." He must've surprised Steve with how flat his tone was, because the man's eyebrows shot up. Clint just kept staring at him. "My job was to protect him. He had a lot to lose if that kind of secret got out. I wasn't going to betray that. He wasn't a threat."

"You didn't know that," Steve pointed out. He sounded like he wasn't happy with what he was saying—he hated thinking badly of people—but he was practical, and he was their Captain, the leader of their group. He hated not knowing things because it meant he couldn't properly protect his team, in his opinion. Clint knew he also had a thing about secrets. But Clint's life, his job at SHIELD, those had taught him the value of secrets. Some that needed to be exposed, and the ones that had to be kept. He knew which category this one fell into.

Clint knew that Steve meant well here. He was worried about Tony and upset about secrets; he meant well. But at the moment it wasn't anything that Clint wanted to hear. He knew if he opened his mouth, he was going to say something—something that he couldn't take back.

He was saved from that by James.

The other super soldier came up and laid a hand on Steve's shoulder. His eyes met Clint's and there was a wealth of understanding in that gaze. Then he was using his hold to draw Steve back. "C'mon, Stevie. Let him be right now, all right? C'mon and sit down. I'm sure Bruce is gonna be out here soon to let us know how Tony's doin'."

Natasha was the next one to come to Clint. Only, she didn't confront him. She came up to him when he was sitting slouched in a chair in Tony's room, and she draped herself over the arm and half on top of him in that way she did that so few people knew she liked. She didn't say anything—after so long together, neither one of them had to. Just her presence was enough. It didn't take away the ache that Clint felt. For the moment, though, it was enough.

Finally, after three and a half long days of watching and waiting, Tony finally woke up. Clint should've known it wasn't going to be that easy.

Clint had unfortunately been convinced by Natasha to take a quick shower and bathroom break, with her taking his place as guard, so he wasn't there when Tony actually woke up. But as soon as he got the message from Natasha, he was on his way.

It seemed like everyone else was, too. The other Avengers were all there in the waiting room when Clint reached them. Seconds later, so was Tony.

The genius strolled towards them on shaky legs, Bruce tucked under one arm to help support him. In his hospital pants and shirt, he looked a lot skinnier than normal, and his bruises and cuts seemed to stand out a whole lot more. But it was the fire in his eyes that Clint took note of. There was anger and fear both in them. They held such _life_. It was a whole lot better to see than the exhaustion that had been there last time before he passed out.

As he watched Tony make his way to them, a bad feeling grew in Clint's stomach. He didn't have to be a genius to figure out what this was going to be about.

Completely ignoring Natasha at his side, and even Bruce, Tony ran his eyes over the ones waiting for him. Clint, Steve, Sam, James. The only one not here was Thor. With one look Tony took in the presence of each of them, and the lack of the one that Clint knew he was looking for. The anger in his eyes grew brighter. "Where is he?" Before anyone could say anything, Tony held up a hand. "And don't even _think_ of trying to bullshit me right now. Me being kidnapped usually turns him into a leech and the fact that I'm with SHIELD would only make it worse. So, someone tell me right now – _where the hell is my brother_?"

The shock in the air was palpable at those words. Everyone startled—even Natasha. It was Sam who put voice to all their surprise. "Your _brother_?"

So many little things made sense in that instant. As they did, Clint found that he wasn't surprised at all. More like – everything clicked into place. The way Spencer talked about Tony, the grief that had been so clear on him the whole time that Tony was gone, how hard he'd fought to find him, how much JARVIS trusted him, how JARVIS called him sir as well… it all made sense. So much so that Clint couldn't believe he hadn't seen it earlier.

"You never told us you had a brother," Steve said slowly.

Tony's lip curled up in a sneer. "We didn't tell anyone. Dad didn't exactly want the world knowing he'd cheated on my mother, and by the time the kid was older it was a whole lot easier to keep him safe this way. Does any of this _matter_? Where. Is. He?"

It was obvious that no one else really wanted to answer this. The way they shuffled, how they looked away, they clearly didn't want to have to be the ones to tell Tony what had happened to the kid that was suddenly a lot more important than they'd realized. Clint drew in a breath and made himself shift just enough that he knew it would catch Tony's attention. Someone had to tell him. It looked like that someone was going to be Clint. "SHIELD has him," he said the instant that Tony's eyes were on him. The man deserved the truth. "By coming after you, against Fury's wishes, he broke his deal with SHIELD. He left with them once we had you."

If he'd thought Tony looked angry before, it was nothing compared to the sheer rage that sufficed him now. " _And you let him go?_ "

Guilt was a familiar sensation to Clint. He was far too used to the way it twisted up his insides. "It was the only thing I could do. He refused to come hide at the Tower until you woke up. Now, do you wanna yell at me for it, or do you wanna go and get him back?" If Clint had had any doubts before about Tony trying to get Spencer back—and he really hadn't—they would've been erased the instant he found out that the two were related. There was no doubt whatsoever in Clint's mind just what Tony was going to do here.

It wasn't hard to tell that he'd surprised Tony. A second later, his lips curved. "I've been known to multitask."

"You should try multitasking from bed," Bruce said, clearly knowing Tony would ignore his orders.

Tony turned his smile Bruce's direction. It was kind of sweet to see the way that he softened as he looked at the other genius. It was a look that Tony rarely got, and one that he rarely let others see.

Thinking back to the way he'd looked back in that room, when he'd caught sight of Spencer… that was a look Clint had a feeling only Spencer, and now Bruce, had ever seen.

Now, the look that Nick was going to get… that was going to be a far different one. One that Clint hoped he, himself, would never end up on the receiving end of.

* * *

Ten minutes later the Avengers were making their way onto the observation deck. Tony had only held off long enough to change into slacks, a shirt, and a jacket. "My armor," he'd joked with them. It really was like a set of armor, though. Once he'd had it on he'd looked less like Tony, the slightly broken and scared guy they'd picked up from the base, and he transformed into Tony Stark. Pulling on the suit also seemed to pull on an air of confidence and smug superiority that Tony usually wore in the public eye.

He walked into the room under his own steam, without anyone supporting him, and he was beaming as he did. "Honey, I'm home!" he called out happily, flinging his arms open wide as he walked out onto the desk where Nick stood. Other agents turned around to see what was going on, but it was the way that Nick paused before turning that Clint took note of. Nick knew what was coming. Knew, and wasn't looking forward to it.

His expression stayed serious and calm when he faced Tony, though. Which was a bit impressive. Not many could do that. "What're you doing out of bed, Stark? Shouldn't you be resting?"

Tony made a 'tsk' sound and shook his head. "Really? Nicky, Nicky, Nicky." He punctuated each word with a shake of his head. Bringing his arms in, he folded them across his chest and cocked an eyebrow. "Now, how am I supposed to sleep when I know you've got something that belongs to me. You know I don't like it when people take my things."

The playful tone was completely at odds with the dangerous glint in his eyes. Clint stood with his fellow Avengers and watched, all of them silent, as Nick visibly debated with himself before seeming to decide to throw aside games. The man crossed his arms as well and met Tony glare for glare. "He knew the terms of our deal and he broke it. He knew the risks. In other hands, he's a weapon, Stark. A big one. If someone takes him and breaks him, they could turn him against us, and we don't have any defense against his powers. You know the kind of damage he could cause."

"And you know the kind of damage I could cause," Tony said with a smirk.

"I also know which one's worse."

"Do you?" Amusement colored Tony's tone. He leaned back a little, resting his hip against the nearby table in a move that Clint could tell was meant to piss off Fury, but also ease the ache in his exhausted body. Tony was doing a good job of covering it up, though. He was still smirking at Fury, still watching him with a raised eyebrow. "I think you're forgetting who you're dealing with here, Director. Now, Pikachu, he'd fight with everything he could not to give any bastards out there what they wanted. He'd get a message through to me, to JARVIS, and he'd probably attack the dummy server we set up just for situations like that. One that the bad guys would _think_ was SHIELD or government or whatever." At Nick's surprised look, Tony chuckled. "What? You think he's _never_ thought about it?" His tone of voice made it clear how stupid he thought Nick was for that.

Then the smirk the genius wore grew, and it was the one that Clint had seen directed at a lot of bastards before. Bad guys, when Tony was dumb enough to flip up the face plate. Assholes he was happily eviscerating across a business table. It was the smirk that said Tony was about to go in for the kill.

"Me, on the other hand?" Leaning forward, the man turned his voice hard and cold. "You keep him from me, and I will happily take every single secret SHIELD has and air it on every news channel worldwide. I'll rip open your closets and let all the skeletons fall out. Agents on missions? Locations of your bases? Project Reliant?" They all saw Nick actually startle at that one, his eye widening briefly, and Tony chuckled. "Oh yeah. That information will be everywhere—unless you give him back."

"People would die," Nick said, like he thought somehow that would change Tony's mind.

Tony gave a casual shrug. "That'd be on your head, not mine."

His words stunned more than a few people. Steve was looking at him with open shock, as was Sam, and most of the agents around the room. Nick had on that shuttered expression that meant he'd gotten a reaction he wasn't quite sure how to deal with.

At the same time, James was giving a small nod of approval, and Natasha had that slight twitch to her lips that showed she was pleased and a bit amused by Tony at the moment. For Clint's part, he wanted to smirk, and after a second he let himself. Too many idiots out there forgot that Tony wasn't just some nice little playboy with lots of money. He was dangerous in his own right. It just took a lot to push him to a point where he felt the need to show that off. Messing with people he cared about? That was a surefire way to do it.

When Tony held a hand out, Natasha was there first, handing over a cell phone. He took it from her with a pleased smile, though he didn't look her way. He kept his eyes on Nick. "Now, there are two ways this can go. You can either give me the location of my brother, after which I _will_ be taking him out of here – _or_ , I can press one button on this phone and tell JARVIS to set off a protocol that will make your lives an absolute nightmare. The choice is yours, _Director_."

After a short pause, during which it seemed like no one moved or even _breathed_ , all of them waiting anxiously for what was to come, Nick finally shook his head. "I much prefer dealing with your brother."

The smile slipped on Tony's lips and his eyes darkened a little more. In that moment, the mask fell away, and the absolute rage he felt was clear. "Don't expect to be doing much of it in the future."

* * *

Once he had the location of his brother from Nick, there was nothing that was going to hold Tony back from going to get him. It didn't matter how much his body ached or much he craved a bed. He wasn't going to rest until he had Spencer back again. And he definitely wasn't going to rest anywhere near SHIELD. Not anymore.

All Tony had been wanting these past weeks was a way to get home. The assholes who'd taken him, they'd wanted him to build a weapon for them, and they hadn't been all that pleased when he'd refused. When he finally gave in, hoping to be able to use this to his advantage as he'd done before, it hadn't exactly worked the way he wanted. They were smarter than most, he had to give them credit for that. They hadn't planned on letting him near anything. His job was to direct a group of people so that _they_ could build what he told them to, and he wouldn't have a chance to build anything to help him escape. Like he said – smarter than most.

That had meant a lot of work trying to figure out how to do something indirectly. Something he could make them build without them realizing what they were building. It was a daunting task. One he wasn't sure he could do. The only thing that gave him the motivation to keep going was the knowledge that his friends would be looking for him, too, and they'd be trying to get him back home. Even if he couldn't think of a unique way to signal them, he just needed to stall the guys holding him, draw things out long enough that his team could find him.

And they had. His team and his brother had found him and they'd brought him back.

Now it was time to return that favor.

Thank God Spencer wasn't far. Tony had almost snarled outright when Nick told him that the kid was in the Helicarrier with them. The fact that Nick had kept Spencer on the Helicarrier was pretty telling. Likely, he'd intended on giving Spencer back in the end no matter what. Or he'd known that Tony would demand him back. Either one. Which meant the whole thing had been a giant scare tactic. Something to frighten Spencer so that the next time he thought about disobeying, he'd remember this and behave better. There was a pretty good chance Nick had probably thought to use him as leverage to try and get something from Tony, too, before 'graciously' agreeing to give him back. Thinking about that only pissed Tony off even more.

As they made their way down the hall, he ignored anyone who came with him. They weren't important. He moved with quick, sure steps, ignoring the exhaustion that still sat inside his body as well as the dizziness that kept trying to make itself known. When he turned a corner and swayed, just the smallest bit, he found Natasha right there beside him, silently and unobtrusively helping to catch and brace him up. He gave her a small nod of thanks, getting a ghost of a smile in return. When he was straightened up and moving once more, he noticed that Clint had moved as well, settling in at his other side. The two super-spies were basically acting as bodyguards. They were helping him, keeping him safe, and more importantly – they weren't trying to stop him.

When he got to their destination, there were two agents waiting there for them, obviously having been warned of their coming. Tony paid them no mind. He trusted his own safety to the two on either side of him, as well as the group bringing up the rear. Instead, he focused on the room that they were guarding. One single door with a window he would bet was only one-way glass. What he saw when he looked inside was _infuriating_. This wasn't a room like Nick had suggested. This was a damn glorified cell.

His rage must've been obvious because one of the agents shuffled a little. He wasn't smart enough to keep quiet, either. "It was just to hold him until a safe house could be arranged."

"It's a cell," Tony said flatly. "It doesn't matter how pretty it is, it's still a cell." Trying to fight off his anger, he stepped forward, eyes going to the hunched figure at the far end of the room. Spencer was sitting in a chair by a desk, his whole body hunched over and his head ducked down. The tension in him, the way he held himself perfectly still, weren't good signs. Then Spencer shifted just the slightest bit, and Tony saw the one thing guaranteed to piss him off more than anything else. " _You collared him_?" The need to get to Spencer increased tenfold. These idiots! These stupid fucking idiots! This wasn't just a matter of Tony being pissed now. This had become infinitely more important _and_ dangerous. "Open the door. Now!"

No one was stupid enough to argue with that tone. Especially not when he knew the two spies on either side of him were glaring, and wow, even James was glaring as he stepped up behind them and deliberately crossed his arms over his chest, flexing just enough that the plates in his arm visibly shifted and resettled. Later, Tony would think about the impression that Spencer had seemingly made on the other Avengers. For the moment all he could focus on was the door that was now being unlocked in front of him.

In contrast to his anger of moments before, everything about Tony went soft as he stepped into the room. The anger faded off his body and his movements became slower and more deliberate with a practiced ease. When he spoke, it was in a gentle and playful tone that was a far cry from the way he'd been snarling at everyone else. "You know, you've stayed in some pretty shitty places over the years, but this one really takes the cake."

He watched as Spencer's head whipped up so fast it was a wonder he didn't give himself whiplash. The stunned disbelief in the kid's eyes was heartbreaking. But not anywhere near as much as the way that Spencer tightened his hands together, as if physically restraining himself from reaching out to Tony, and oh _hell no_ , there was no way that was going to fly. Not with how damn hard Tony had worked over the years to make sure that Spencer always knew he could come to him for a hug or a shoulder to lean on or even holding his fucking hand if that was what the little shit needed. Tony wasn't going to let _SHIELD_ ruin that.

Pushing back his seething thoughts, he smiled at Spencer and held his arms open wide. "You've got about ten seconds to get over here and hug me before I climb down there to you."

That was all he needed to say. In a flash Spencer was up and crossing the distance between them. It didn't escape Tony's notice, how he swayed as he stood up, the way that he stumbled a little as he moved, or the shakiness to his hands. It just made Tony's temper even worse.

Curling his arms around Spencer only did a little to ease that anger. Somehow, though they were pretty close in height, Spencer managed to compact himself down just like he always did until Tony easily rested his chin on top of Spencer's head. "Hey there, little boy blue." The engineer murmured, giving Spencer a gentle squeeze. "You're all right. I've got you now."

He felt a puff of breath against the front of his shirt that might've been a muffled sob. It was followed by a soft, shaky voice he almost didn't hear. "Y-You… you shouldn't b-be up. You sh-should still be in the… the hospital." Even as he said it, he pressed in closer, like he was terrified Tony was going to just let go and walk away.

 _Goddamn SHIELD_.

Tony rolled his eyes in mock annoyance. "Like I was going to hang out in there while you're here. You know I don't stay in hospitals without my favorite teddy bear."

As he'd known it would, the old joke had Spencer shaking a little with a soft laugh. Normally, a joke like that was followed up by Spencer threatening to hurt Rhodey for ever starting that up. Now? Now, Spencer just nuzzled in, his body slumping a little like it was seconds away from falling down. They needed to get out of here _now_. If they took much longer, Spencer was going to slump back down, and as much as Tony hated to admit it there was no way he'd be able to pick his brother up and carry him. "All right, kiddo. I think it's time for us to blow this popsicle stand, don't you?"

Immediately Spencer started to shake his head. "C-Can't…"

" _Can_." Tilting his head a little, he pressed his cheek against Spencer's hair just so he'd be able to feel Tony's smile. "You should know better than to tell me I can't do something, Pikachu."

Spencer was still shaking his head. Or, was it just that the rest of him was shaking, too? It was frighteningly hard to tell. Either way, Tony knew what he was about to do. That Spencer was going to start to protest again. The best way to head it off was to make sure he didn't get a chance to even get started. Tony indulged himself and rubbed his cheek against Spencer's hair—it felt so good to stand here with him, to hold on to someone solid, to smell something other than the smell of his own filthy body in that stupid fucking cell—and he started talking before Spencer could. "You don't have anything to worry about, Spencer. I took care of things just like I always do. There was no way I was going to leave you here in SHIELD's hands. I went to Fury, made my case, and he released you into my obviously capable hands."

"Y-You mean you th-threatened him." Spencer stammered. He was steadier sounding, though.

"Semantics."

As he felt Spencer chuckle just a little, Tony knew he wasn't going to get a better time than that to start to get him out of there. This was as good as Spencer was going to be until they could get him somewhere safe and take that godforsaken collar off of him. If he wasn't afraid of the electrical surge when Spencer's powers came back online, he would've already done it. He wouldn't let his little brother keep that thing on any longer than he had to. But the last time they'd done this… Tony shuddered as he pushed back the memories of _that_ event. However, the last time, when they'd taken the collar off they'd found out that Spencer's powers didn't just come back online, they _rushed_ back in, lighting him up and creating a surge that Tony didn't want to happen on a flying ship.

Only, as he started to try and steer Spencer, the kid shivered and actually tried to plant his feet like he was going to actually _stay here_ or something equally stupid. Well, that sure as hell wasn't going to fly. Tony cast a look behind him at where Clint was guarding their door, protecting their privacy, and he gave the man a warning look he hoped conveyed everything before he let his body slump just a bit against Spencer. When he spoke, his voice was just a tiny bit shakier. Not enough for a normal person to notice, but enough for his observant little brother to take note of. "Come on, kiddo. I don't know about you but I don't feel like standing here all day. Not that it isn't such a _warm_ and _welcoming_ room…"

He felt Spencer tense a little and smothered a smile. _Some things never change_. The hold that Spencer had on him shifted to one that was more supportive than clinging and he pulled back enough to cast a worried look up at Tony through shaggy bangs. God, he looked so damn young! "You should still be in a bed, Tone."

Go figure this was the thing the kid finally stopped stuttering for. Tony didn't comment on it, though. Not when it worked perfectly for what he wanted. "That's the plan."

This time when Tony went to step towards the door it was a whole lot easier to bring Spencer with him. Especially when he put a slight falter into his step. Spencer shifted his weight around so that he could slide to Tony's side instead of hugging against him. It kept Tony's arm over Spencer's shoulders and allowed Spencer to cuddle in against his side while also supporting Tony as they walked. Score one for protectiveness. Spencer would follow now just to get Tony to a bed that much quicker.

Clint gave him a small nod of approval when Spencer wasn't looking. Then he was smiling down at Spencer in a way that had Tony perking up a little in interest. When had _that_ happened? "Hey, Doc," Clint said, voice low and warm. Easy in a way it so rarely was with others. "What do you say we get you guys home?"

"Sounds good to me," Spencer said softly.

With Clint near Spencer's side, Natasha on Tony's left, James walking in front of them, and the others behind them, no one bugged the group as they made their way to the jet. It was time to go home.


	12. Chapter 12

Thirty minutes later the entire team stood on the medical floor of Stark Tower. Tony was lying in the hospital bed, once more hooked up to machines that it was insisted he needed, despite the fact that he was quite adamant he _didn't_. He might've gotten away with getting out of here, too, if Spencer hadn't been looking up at him with those big, exhausted, pleading eyes. There was no defense for those! Tony dared anyone to defend themselves against them. It didn't work! Especially when you'd known the kid since he was an actual kid and could see so much of that younger boy in that look. It was irritating. Tony's plan had been to get _Spencer_ back here safely. Not to find himself trapped in a bed again.

Sure, he was exhausted, and sore, and sleep sounded _awesome_. He just wanted to do it in his own bed and not in the medical wing. Seemed like he wasn't going to get his wish, though.

The only good thing that came of being in the medical wing was that they'd managed to get the collar off of Spencer.

While everyone else was gone, leaving just Tony, Bruce, and Spencer together, Tony had told JARVIS to prepare the whole tower for a surge—and hot _damn_ was it good to hear JARVIS again!—and then he'd pulled the collar off.

The way that Spencer slumped after, how he'd curled in on himself and just _shook_ as his powers came back to him, broke Tony's heart. He had to wait for a bit until Spencer was settled, but once he was, he dragged the kid in close and didn't plan on letting go. Spencer didn't protest.

Case in point—at the moment Spencer was squished down into the hospital bed with Tony, pressed right up against his side with arms and legs clinging to him like he was terrified someone was going to take him away. It broke Tony's heart to see it. Bruce, amazing man that he was, had helped Tony draw a blanket over the kid once he'd passed out – which hadn't taken long. Now Spencer was just a blanket lump with only a bit of his hair sticking out the top of the blanket. His face was pressed up against Tony's side and the bed itself, keeping him hidden.

Holding on to him helped Tony calm some of the panic that still sat inside of him. He knew he was going to freak out more later. In some ways, this felt too much like a dream. A ridiculous, insane dream. His world had recently been made up of panic, fear, and pain. It felt surreal to be back in the comfort of his home with Spencer curled up by him like he was a little kid all over again. There was a hint of fear he wasn't quite able to get rid of, that this was maybe just a dream. That he'd wake up and be trapped back _there_ again. Those thoughts made him hold Spencer even closer.

"J?" It felt good to call out to him. To know that JARVIS was there. When he got a warm "Here, Sir" in return, it eased a bit more of the tension. Tony smiled and let his eyes close as he rested his head back against the pillow. Much as he didn't like being here, he could admit that he probably needed it. He felt like he'd been hit by a truck. "It's really good to hear your voice, buddy."

"Might I say it is good to hear yours as well, Sir. I'm very glad you're home."

"Me too, J. Me too." Sighing, Tony turned his head and opened his eyes once more so that he could see the top of Spencer's head. "Looks like I missed a lot while I was gone. Mind catching me up?"

It only took about fifteen minutes for JARVIS to really catch Tony up on the important things. There was more, he knew. Things that he could look at later. Videos that he knew JARVIS would've recorded but wouldn't want to play for him right now. Later, Tony would look at them. He'd see how much his absence had hurt his family and he'd _hate it_. For now, he had enough info to be caught up on the important things. It only served to piss him off even more.

Nick had no right calling Spencer in. Oh, he knew that Spencer would've been _livid_ if he'd ever found out that Tony had been kidnapped and no one had called him in. But bringing him out here like this? Bringing him to the Tower and tossing him in with the Avengers? That had been a deliberate move on Nick's part. He'd hinted to Tony before about trusting the team with Spencer's existence. Why, Tony didn't know. But he'd hinted at it. Tony had shot him down. _If_ he was going to tell the team, it was going to be on his terms. Nick had taken that out of his hands. He'd tossed Spencer here, after giving his file to Clint and making him the kid's handler—at least if someone had been watching over Spencer, it was someone Tony knew he could trust—and then just _leaving him here_ , instead of taking him to the Helicarrier and letting Spencer work privately and secretly from there. They could've easily done it like that, seeing as how the tech that Spencer had used in the long run to help find Tony had been based through SHIELD. Nick could've done that if he wanted to. But he'd done this instead.

Why? Was it just to blow Spencer's cover? To force Tony to tell the truth? Or—and this made Tony sick—was it a way to try and get control of Spencer? Because Nick had to know there was no way Spencer would've stayed behind once they found Tony. No matter what, he would go with, and that was breaking the rules that SHIELD had set up for him. Tony knew that SHIELD had been trying to get their hooks deeper in the kid for a long time. Half to control him, and half because they knew that controlling Spencer would allow them some leverage in controlling Tony.

It was a lot to think about, on top of the thoughts already in Tony's head, and he tried not to groan as he closed his eyes once more. Too much. It was all too much. Too many things that needed thinking about and he just wasn't up to his usual speed. If anything, he was fighting off the urge to sleep.

So of course that had to be when JARVIS warned him "Sir, you have guests incoming."

Tony sighed. He looked down at the sleeping kid and debated, just for a moment, telling JARVIS to lock them out of the room. Then he decided against it. Better to just get this done with while Spencer was asleep. Less shit he'd have to deal with when he woke up. Plus, as he privately admitted to himself, he wanted to see them. He'd missed his family like hell.

He was waiting for them when they burst in with their usual noise and insanity. Tony had to quickly throw up a hand to quiet them as he felt the kid stir against him. "You mind _not_ waking him up?" Tony asked them, dropping his hand back down. "He needs all the sleep he can get."

That got him more than a few strange looks. Steve stopped at the foot of the bed, Sam at his side, and fixed Tony with a firm look. "He's not the only one that needs rest."

Tony shrugged one shoulder and adjusted his arm around Spencer to better hold him. "I'm resting." He might not be asleep, but he was resting. His brain was still way too wired to actually get some sleep at the moment. There were too many things he knew waited for him in his dreams. He wasn't looking forward to visiting them. Not to mention, he wasn't quite ready to give up his watch on the brat beside him. "Besides, telling me I need rest doesn't seem to work well with the whole noisy party thing you've got going on here."

They at least looked a little sheepish about that. Well, most of them. Clint looked completely unrepentant as he lounged against the wall, and Natasha had that whole 'you're all ridiculous and I only tolerate you' look on her face that secretly meant she was more amused with them than she was letting on. She drifted close to the side of his bed and let her eyes run over him in a quick assessment.

Thor had his arm slung around James as they moved to the foot of the bed, which ended with James almost elbowing Steve out of the way. The friendship between those two was something that amused Tony to see. Though not near as much as the way that James smirked just now, or Steve shot him a small scowl, which told Tony clearly that the 'almost elbowing' had been intentional. Huh. Trouble in paradise? He'd have to poke around about that one later.

"It is great to see you home and well, my friend." Thor's voice was low for him, which was still pretty booming for just about anyone else. Surprisingly, Spencer didn't even stir. His breaths were a low and even puff against Tony's side.

James added his own small smile to Thor's words. "Bout time you got back home."

A real smile stretched over Tony's lips. "Miss me that much, Terminator?"

"Who else is gonna fix my arm if it breaks down?" James shot back.

Chuckling, Tony shook his head. He adjusted his grip a little around Spencer when he felt thin fingers twitch against his shirt. Bringing one hand up, he curled his arm so that he could reach the bit of Spencer's head that was sticking out and scratch at it. It worked just the same as it always had. Within a few breaths, the fingers on Tony's shirt relaxed a little, as did the rest of him.

His movement brought every eye in the room back to Spencer. Tony could see the questions and he tried not to sigh. They were going to want answers. Especially since he'd barely given them anything so far. Now that he was here, safely resting in bed, and he had Spencer with him, he wasn't going to be able to keep putting it all off. Better to just say it before they started asking their questions. It made it easier to control the flow of information that way.

He let his eyes drift over to Bruce, to the one person he'd really wanted to see more than anyone else aside from Spencer, and something in his gaze had the man slipping away from the others to move up to the bed opposite Natasha. After only a brief hesitation—nerves, Tony knew, from the audience watching on—he reached out and took Tony's free hand in his, twining their fingers together. Just that simple touch was enough to have Tony feeling a bit more comfortable. It made it easier to start talking.

"My father had an affair when I was ten," Tony began. The words weren't hard to say, though he couldn't keep himself from giving a small, bitter snort. "It wasn't the first one. Wasn't the last, either. But it wasn't until I was fourteen that Mom and I found out about it. I don't know how she found out. I just, I came home one day and heard them arguing about it. That was how I found out I had a little brother. A three-year-old little brother. Not long after that, Mom took me out to meet him, and the rest is history."

Most everyone was looking down at the lump that was Spencer. "He said he was a family friend." Steve said slowly, a bit unsure. His eyes flicked up towards Tony's face, checking to make sure that he was okay, that this was all right.

Tony smiled at him and nodded. "That's what we told people. Everyone thought that Jarvis and Diana—Spencer's mom—were just good friends. It made it easy for him to come and stay at the house sometimes without arousing suspicion. Spencer's been a part of my life since the moment I found out about him. Dad didn't want people knowing, and when we got older Spencer and I decided it was safer to keep the world from finding out about him. Especially after I became Iron Man. I've got too many enemies out there who'd love to take someone connected to me."

"Seems like he can defend himself." Sam chimed in, lips twitching with amusement.

The scowl that crossed Tony's features was enough to silence them all. "That's not the point, feather head. Sure, he can do it if he has to, but he _shouldn't have to_. He's got a job he loves—one that won't take kindly to finding out they're employing a mutant. Using his powers publicly isn't safe for him. What he did to get me back, that wasn't safe for him, and he never should've done it." Thinking of the risk that Spencer had run was enough to make Tony's chest ache. But he knew that Spencer would do it again in a heartbeat. Just as he would've done the same in his place.

The sound of someone clearing their throat had the whole team looking over to the archer, who was still leaning so casually against the wall. "You know, I'm less interested in the whole 'secret brother' thing and more interested in the whole 'Tony was kidnapped' thing," Clint pointed out dryly, shrugging one shoulder negligently. "I mean, call me crazy or whatever. Just seems like that would be more important, y'know?"

Tony was both annoyed and grateful for the topic switch. He didn't want to lay here and argue about Spencer with them, but he also didn't want to talk about what happened. He wasn't quite ready for that yet. There was no way he was going to be able to get away with giving them nothing, though. Not only would they not let him, they also deserved to know what was going on. At the very least so they could be prepared in the future. "They wanted me to build them a weapon," he told them, shifting just a little in bed despite the aches that flared to life as he did. "I stalled them as best as I could, but they were… rather persuasive. It was never finished, though."

"Will they be able to finish it on their own?" Sam asked him.

He was saved from having to answer that from a surprising source. The blankets around Spencer shifted a little and a clear "No" came from them. Everyone looked down as the blankets were pulled down enough that Spencer's head became clear. Sleepy eyes lifted towards Tony first, as if unable to help from checking that he was there despite the way their bodies were pressed together. The relief and joy written in those eyes had Tony smiling softly at him. Once he'd checked in, Spencer pushed himself up gently, sliding up against Tony's side until his head was closer to Tony's shoulder, careful to keep away from the arc reactor. He didn't look back towards the others until he settled.

It didn't escape Tony's notice how Spencer's eyes flashed to Clint next, like he had to check that he was here too. Hmm.

Spencer smothered a yawn against the blankets before he spoke again. "When I tapped into their systems I downloaded all the information they had and then burned out their computers as well as anything else electronic in there, including the little bit that they'd built so far of the weapon." Spencer didn't say what the weapon was, though Tony knew he had to have realized it if he'd been in their systems. "I've already given the information to JARVIS and he'll sort through it and keep what's important and delete the rest of it."

Once again, Tony was grateful for his brother's thoughtfulness.

The others didn't seem to understand so much. Well, not all of them, at least. "Is that really a good idea?" Sam asked hesitantly, looking from Spencer to Tony and then briefly flicking his gaze to Steve, who didn't look happy at all. "I mean, there's a lot of information there if you really downloaded everything from their system. We should probably hand it over to SHIELD and let them take a look at things."

A faint sneer touched Spencer's face even as the rest of him gave a small shiver. That shiver had Tony tightening his hold on him. "I trust JARVIS far more than I trust SHIELD."

No one in the room was stupid enough to argue that after everything Spencer had just gone through.

The little bit of energy that Spencer had found, and Tony as well, seemed to be fading away. The two of them were curling into one another a little more without even realizing it. Tony felt his eyes getting a bit heavier and was fighting to keep them open.

Bruce noticed first. He straightened himself up and took charge of the room in a way that he once wouldn't have. It made Tony want to smile to see it. "I think this is enough right now, guys. The last thing that either of them need is an interrogation. What they need is sleep. JARVIS has the information and he'll let us know if there's anything that we need to know, right JARVIS?"

"Absolutely, Dr. Banner. I'll notify you immediately if anything important comes to my attention," JARVIS answered smoothly.

After that, it was easy for Bruce to convince everyone to leave, though not before a few quick hugs were handed out. Thor, thankfully, restrained himself to a rather gentle—for him—pat on the head. Natasha stunned him by placing a soft kiss on his forehead and murmuring low words in Russian before she disappeared. Clint and Bruce were the last two to go, and Tony smiled up at the archer when Clint gave his hair a tug before briefly clapping a hand on his shoulder, a silent 'glad you're back' that meant a lot to the engineer. He also let his hand drop down low in an _almost_ casual touch against Spencer's fingers that had Tony's mind whirring even more than before. Especially when Spencer didn't pull away, but instead lifted a finger just enough to let them tangle together for a split second before they pulled apart.

With Spencer lying against Tony, there was no real way for him to say what he wanted to Bruce. At least, he didn't think there was. Not until Spencer shifted lower again and pressed his face against Tony's shirt as he mumbled, "Just kiss him already so I can go back to sleep."

"Brat," Tony said affectionally. Then he lifted his gaze to Bruce, enjoying the hint of a blush that was touching the other man's cheeks. "You heard the man, Brucie-bear. Give me a kiss so the kid can go to sleep." His eyes twinkled mischievously as he added on "You wouldn't want to interfere with his healing, now would you?"

Bruce got a bit redder. He smiled, though, and was already leaning in. "I don't know why I put up with you."

"I'm just that adorable."

He could feel Bruce's smile against his lips and it was the single best thing he'd felt. This was something that he'd been thinking about the entire time he was gone. The few, hesitant kisses they'd shared so far, the date that Tony had been on his way to. Imagining how Bruce might've looked, how he'd probably dressed up and yet would still have that absentminded professor look to him, how he'd probably blush at all of Tony's over-the-top flirting and yet smile at the same time… those things had helped Tony get through everything.

Their kiss deepened a little, the both of them drawing comfort and enjoyment from it. Right up until a voice chimed up from the vicinity of Tony's stomach and dryly told them "If you get an erection while my face is this near your lap, I am electrocuting the both of you."

Laughter broke their kiss. Tony dropped his head back and laughed out loud. Poor Bruce, his face was on fire as he drew back, though it wasn't enough to erase his smile. "I can't believe I didn't see the resemblance earlier," Bruce said, shaking his head.

Tony was still laughing even as he took another kiss before Bruce left them. When the door was shut, the older Stark smothered his chuckles and told JARVIS "Lock the doors for us, J. Don't let anyone but Brucie in here…" Pausing, he tilted his head to watch Spencer's face and deliberately added on "…or Clint."

It was worth it to see the way that Spencer quickly turned his face in to hide whatever look was there. Oh, man, this was too good. Tony's lips curved up a bit more. Lifting his hand so he could play with Spencer's hair again, he gleefully asked "There something you want to tell me, Pikachu?"

"No." Spencer's voice was a low grumble that was reminiscent of the occasionally pouty little boy he'd once been. It faded though as Spencer nuzzled in against him again and his voice shifted into something else, something still young but more… broken. Aching. "I'm really glad you're home, Tony."

"Me too, kid. Me too."

"I don't…" Whatever Spencer was going to say was lost as his voice cracked a little. He curled in on himself and his hands twitched until could get to Tony's shirt and start to twist the fabric a little. When he spoke again his voice was so much softer. "Don't do that again."

Tony closed his eyes as he lay his head back. "I'll do my best. But even if it does happen, you know I'm always going to do my best to get back home, Spencer. Always. And my best is pretty damn awesome."

He felt Spencer give a little huff. Tony's teasing worked, though. His tone lost the frail edge to it that never failed to break Tony's heart. "I believe that's half the problem. Perhaps you could tone it down ever so slightly? People might be less inclined to try and take you, then."

"Sorry, kiddo." Tony ruffled his hair. "Awesomeness like this doesn't just turn off. Us Stark boys, we're just doomed to a life of awesome. The rest of the world is just going to have to get used to it."

The light laugh that Spencer gave was like music to Tony's ears. It put a smile on his face, one that stayed there even as the two slowly settled down towards sleep. Neither one noticed as JARVIS dimmed the lights or as he started to play some soft rock in the background, the go-to music when either one needed help sleeping. Before a song had even finished, the two were out, wrapped safely up in one another and content for the first time in weeks. Things weren't perfect yet, but they were getting there. So long as they had each other, they'd face whatever came their way.


End file.
